MOB x HTBAT - How to Fight a Dare War
by Cottonmouth25
Summary: Drageist the Giratina is feeling bored. So, with nothing better to do, he summons two different Hiccups and their respective gangs to compete against each other in an interdimensional dare war. Yes, insanity ensues. It's monsters versus Pokémon - which team will win? A HTTYD x Pokémon x Monster Hunter crossover. Collab between me and ReptileGirl497. Dare suggestions welcome!
1. Between Dimensions

**_Chapter 1 – Between Dimensions_**

 **IMPORTANT**

 **This is a three-way crossover between HTTYD, Pokemon, and Monster Hunter. I've decided to label this under "HTTYD and Pokemon crossovers" because the Pokemon aspects of this story will be a bit stronger than the Monster Hunter influences.**

 **This story may occasionally reference the events of "How to Become a Trainer" by ReptileGirl497 and "Monsters of Berk" by me.**

 **This story is co-written by both me and ReptileGirl497. It's our first collab fic, so we both hope you enjoy it.**

 **OCs are involved.**

 **We're hoping that whoever reads this story will help us come up with dares for the characters to humiliate each other with. Give us suggestions by reviewing this story or sending us PMs.**

 **ReptileGirl497 and Cottonmouth25 do not own anything relating to HTTYD, Pokemon, or Monster Hunter.**

* * *

Flashing, colorful lights filling the vision.

A dizzying, spinning sensation that could be felt deep in the gut.

And then the experience stopping abruptly, followed by a burst of pain as the buttocks crashed onto a hard stone surface.

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third felt like vomiting as he slowly got up onto his shaky legs. The spinning and colors and uncomfortable feelings in his stomach had happened absolutely without warning, sending his body into chaos, and then stopping just as quickly, leaving him to deal with the mild aftereffects. Fortunately, they faded rapidly, and Hiccup felt relatively normal again as he stood up straight and opened his eyes.

The feeling of relief immediately faded, because upon witnessing his surroundings, Hiccup was convinced that he'd gone completely insane.

He was standing on a giant stony platform floating in the middle of some kind of alien-looking void. As far as the eye could see, in every direction _including_ down, there was nothing but dark blue sky – like being stranded in the middle of the ocean, except it was filled with air instead of water. Instead of clouds, the area all around Hiccup was dotted with more platforms suspended in midair. Some of them seemed to be _moving_ , as well, most of which with no real goal in mind.

Behind him, he could hear his various companions shifting uncomfortably, all of them similarly speechless as they tried to comprehend this strange new world.

But that wasn't what had Hiccup's attention.

Directly in front of him, wearing an identical expression of shock and terror, was _another Hiccup_.

"What the _Hel_?!" was their first, simultaneous reaction.

Both Hiccups startled each other with their outbursts and leapt black, blinking rapidly. Neither of them could bring themselves to move or speak – indeed, the sheer shock they were experiencing had left them utterly frozen. Their brains were unable to process the level of sheer _wrongness_ this situation was steeped in.

"Hey Hiccup!" came an obnoxious voice from behind the first Hiccup. "Wouldn't you say that you're… beside yourself?"

A pair of similar-looking blonde Viking teens, obviously siblings, immediately began snickering at the horrible joke that the sole male of the two had just made.

Ironically, it was the twins' terrible humor that broke the ice between the Hiccups. They visibly relaxed into a more casual stance, one of them rubbing the back of his head awkwardly while the second put his hands behind his back and kicked at the ground with his prosthetic leg. Slowly, they looked at one another and just stared for a couple of seconds, coming to terms with the fact they were each staring at a mirror image of themselves.

"So… you're me," said the first Hiccup, still feeling a little numb.

"Seems about right," the second replied, in the same nasally tone.

"And that means… I'm you," Hiccup One concluded.

"Wow, your powers of deduction are unparalleled, to say the least," Hiccup Two sarcastically answered.

With that, the tension between the two Hiccups deflated like a balloon, and they chuckled amongst themselves.

"Are you a Monster Rider too?" asked Hiccup One, curiously.

The second Hiccup seemed nervous at this. "Uh, n-not really… I'm a Pokemon Trainer though, does that have any meaning to you?"

It did not, the question only serving to confuse the first Hiccup. Somehow, he got the feeling that Hiccup Two was disappointed by this, something that only bewildered him further.

Another voice, this time from behind "Trainer" Hiccup, suddenly yelled out, "Hey, could we maybe cut back on the sarcasm and figure out what the heck is going on right now? And for Arceus's sake, watch your language!"

For the very first time, "Rider" Hiccup noticed the presence of a collection of other beings somewhere behind Trainer Hiccup. Just like how he had his own friends backing him up, his identical counterpart had also come with company – some of which was surprisingly familiar. He saw Astrid and Heather (which felt even more surreal), but none of the other Berkian teens. There were several recognizable dragon breeds standing with them, too. No monsters, though.

But the rest of Trainer Hiccup's companions were completely unknown. The smallest was chicken-sized, and the largest was more like Night Fury-sized. The one that had called to Trainer Hiccup wasn't even human!

"Sorry, Snivels," Trainer Hiccup apologized as the speaker came closer to him. "I was just… you know, other Hiccup and all…"

The green serpentine creature pinched the end of its long, pointy snout with one of its front appendages, as if it was feeling a headache coming on. More words came out from its mouth, which Rider Hiccup could barely focus on due to it _being a talking snake oh my gods what in the name of Loki is going on right now_?!

"I recognize this place," it was informing Trainer Hiccup. "This is where Drageist lives. Speaking of which, he'd better be prepared to explain what's going on, because _boy_ do I have questions!"

"Drageist?" Trainer Hiccup repeated, apparently recognizing the unusual word. "What does he have to do with all this?"

Before he could receive an answer to that question (which was just one of many more that Rider Hiccup had), a dark shadow fell over the entirety of the platform, encompassing both Rider and Trainer Hiccups' groups. Everyone looked up, and there was a simultaneous outcry of terror from Rider Hiccup and his friends.

It was a gigantic serpent, ghostly in nature, with a grey body festooned with bone-like pieces of golden armor. Sinuous black tentacles tipped with red spikes sprouted from its back, six of them in total. Eyes that glowed crimson peered out from its gold-armored head, glaring imposingly down at the collection of Vikings and assorted creatures gathered on the platform.

"AHHH!" the largest human present screamed like a little girl. "Class Ten! That is _definitely_ a Class Ten!"

There was a burst of laughter from a floating purple creature. "Oh man, the look on your face!" it cackled.

"That's enough, Adhesive," scolded a bipedal, bird-like being. "Anyone would've been taken by surprise by such a stealthy entrance."

A human-sized frog added quietly, "Not to mention it's their first time meeting Drageist… you know, ever since they got their memories erased…"

The green snake, somehow completely unintimidated by the great dark one hovering menacingly over them all, puffed itself up with annoyance and stood on tiptoe in order for its subsequent shout to be heard more clearly. "Would you care to explain what's going on here?!"

"The talking snake knows that thing?!" a muttonhead behind Trainer Hiccup burst out rudely – not that he wasn't mentally having the same reaction.

That muttonhead nearly soiled himself when the giant monstrosity bent its head so that its intense red gaze was aimed directly at him. Then everyone else almost soiled themselves when it started to speak understandable Norse.

" **That 'thing' can understand you, so watch your tongue,** " it rumbled warningly.

Speaking of tongues, Rider Hiccup finally found his. "Wh-What… what in Th-Thor's name a-are you?"

A powerful, vibrating sound like a roll of thunder trembled through the Haddock boy's bones. It took him a moment or two to realize that the titanic beast was actually chuckling at his reaction.

" **I'm Drageist, little one,** " he said in a rather friendly tone. " **I am known more generally as Giratina. Essentially, I am the ruler of this place, called the Distortion World. Among other things, I am able to travel between different worlds. The Hiccup beside you is an acquaintance of mine, from a world that's fundamentally the same, but also very different, from yours.** "

Rider Hiccup blinked, realizing that even though Drageist had spoken only briefly, there was an almost overwhelming amount of information to take in.

Seeing that none of his audience, aside from a few, were able to process this information, Drageist sighed tiredly. " **Alright, the long version it is…** "

"No no no, let me explain it!" shouted the purple creature, waving its stubby arms around. "Think of us like images in a mirror, except instead of being perfect reflections, there are differences between you and us! You're the Monster Riders, but _we're_ Team Go-Getters, and our version of Berk is different than the one you come from. Is that better?"

"… Just a bit," answered Rider Hiccup, after a few seconds of mulling it over.

However, while the floating Go-Getter had answered one question, there was much Rider Hiccup was still wondering about. Judging from the look on Trainer Hiccup's face, he had his own questions as well. None of them – the Monster Riders, the Go-Getters, or their leaders – knew entirely what was going on.

"Okay, so…" he began.

A cough that sounded more like a small explosion cut him off, startling him into keeping his thought process to himself for the time being.

" **Before I answer all the questions you may have…** " Drageist began.

"…and you've got a _lot_ to answer…" the snake at Trainer Hiccup's side muttered under its breath.

" **…** **I believe that it would be much simpler to begin with some introductions,** " he finished. His immense form began to descend until he was levitating at the same level as the platform, and he began anew, " **So, first thing's first, I will start with Team Go-Getters from the How To Become A Trainer Universe. Everyone else – pay close attention, not all of them have counterparts in your world.** "

It was quiet enough to hear a metaphorical coin drop.

" **Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, and Toothless the Night Fury,** " Drageist started.

Trainer Hiccup looked around at Rider Hiccup's group and gave them all a nonchalant wave. A sleek black dragon separated from the gathering behind him and padded over to its rider's side. However, rather than just sitting there, the Night Fury kept going and curiously bumped Rider Hiccup with its snout. It warbled in a friendly way as it investigated the fascinating human that looked and smelled exactly like the Hiccup it knew.

Rider Hiccup, meanwhile, raised his hands nervously and tried to give the eager dragon some space. "S-So, you ride a Night Fury then?" he stammered, awkwardly trying to make conversation. "I've seen one before – b-back in, in my own world, I mean."

"Yeah, Toothless is my best bud," Trainer Hiccup replied with a sardonic smile. "If it weren't for him, we'd never have been able to tame that Skrill Dagur tried to control a few days ago. Isn't that right, Toothless?"

In response, Toothless galloped playfully back to Trainer Hiccup's side and stretched his reptilian lips in a gummy smile.

"A Skrill?! HA!" shouted the same rude boy from before, overhearing the conversation. "That's weaksauce! You wanna know what _we_ just beat?"

" **No,** " answered Drageist, firmly shutting him up. " **Anyway… Snivels the Servine, and his mount, Verne the Noivern. In their world, by the way, they're called Pokemon.** "

Finally, part of the mystery of the green snake-like creature was solved. Snivels took a few steps forward on his stubby legs and performed a polite bow for his new acquaintances – although he secretly shot a dark look towards Drageist as he did so, seemingly still irritated. There was a loud screech from behind, where Verne – a dragon that bore a strange resemblance to a giant bat – stretched its wings and lashed its tail in greeting.

" **Astrid Hofferson, wife of Hiccup, and Stormfly the Deadly Nadder.** "

"H-Huh?!"

"E-Excuse me?!"

"HICCSTRID IS CANON?!"

Rider Hiccup and the beautiful blonde shieldmaiden in the crowd behind him – his own Astrid – took staggering steps backwards, shouting the shock that Drageist's completely matter-of-fact statement brought down on them. The third, more excited, exclamation came from a small girl in the same group, who looked like Snoggletog had just come early.

In the midst of the excitement, Trainer Astrid walked up to give a small wave, before sliding her hand into Trainer Hiccup's and giving him a shy yet loving smile. That single moment of shared intimacy was what truly made their newlywed status obvious to all. While Rider Hiccup and Rider Astrid took one look at their counterparts and blushed redder than ripe apples, the girl behind them keeled over and fainted with a giant grin on her face.

Appearing to be faintly amused by the proceedings, Drageist spoke up again. " **Moving along – Blaze the Blaziken and Wavern the Noivern.** "

Wavern, as expected, looked pretty much exactly the same as Snivels' partner Verne, although her jaws seemed to be stuffed with some kind of fruit at the moment. The other Pokemon, Blaze, turned out to be the tall, feathered humanoid that had spoken up before. She had no wings, but had wiry arms ending in scaly talons, and the pair of blond-colored crests extending from the back of her head looked _a little_ like wings.

" **Kickin' Hawk the Hawlucha, otherwise known as Lucha Toughshot.** "

"Hey!" shouted a flamboyant bird-man, whose feathers flapped behind him like a wrestler's cape as he planted his talons on his hips. "I told you not to use that name ever again!"

The floating purple thing, the same one that had laughed at the frightened reactions to Drageist's appearance, now let out another burst of laughter.

" **Adhesive the Poipole, the most recent member of the Go-Getters.** "

Now the mischievous creature certainly wasn't laughing. Rather, its massive horned head was drooping with embarrassment.

"Aww, why'd you have to call me out as the rookie?" Adhesive whined, childishly.

"That's probably karma for laughing at what he called me a second ago," muttered Lucha Tough– ahem, Kickin' Hawk.

Blaze silently strode over and bent down to give the much shorter bird a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. She had a solemn expression on her beak as she did so, although given the circumstances, she could've either been genuinely feeling sorry for him or secretly laughing at him.

" **Ninjark the Greninja.** "

The tall, dark amphibian raised a hand as a nonverbal hello. Rider Hiccup was most curious about this particular Go-Getter. Ninjark's head sported a pair of streamlined fins and his own long, pink tongue was wrapped protectively around his face and neck. A tad unsettling, but Hiccup One was far more interested in the Pokemon's lithe, fit physique and mysterious appearance.

" **Brandyn Aetherson and Heather, the lovebirds, and their dragons Buck and Windshear.** "

Now, Heather was someone that Rider Hiccup was familiar with, but Brandyn was not. But with his blond hair and blue eyes, not to mention his implied relationship with Heather, he definitely reminded Hiccup of someone else he knew from his world – a similar-looking young man named Batwings.

"She's not my girlfriend!" he squeaked with a fiery blush, at the same time Heather announced, "He's not my boyfriend!"

A gale of laughter from the other Go-Getters assaulted them, and they both ducked their heads and tried to hide their faces in shame. But it was very hard to go unseen when two large Pokemon – one resembling a white lion and the other a skeletal bat – were standing behind Brandyn, singing "Brandyn and Heather, sittin' in a tree~! K-I-S–"

Drageist used one of his tentacles to shoo the two starry creatures away. " **And lastly, Ra the Solgaleo and Camazotz the Lunala, Brandyn's partners.** "

The two of them stopped giggling like little children and bowed to the confused Monster Riders. Their caretaker shook his head with exasperation at their antics.

" **Now that that's finished, allow me to introduce those who have come from the Monsters Of Berk Universe, the Monster Riders,** " stated Drageist, who turned toward the Monster Riders as he spoke. " **Like I said before – the rest of you need to pay attention because a couple of them will be complete strangers to you. Their monsters, even more so.** "

"He says that like we've all had our memories wiped, too," Snivels muttered to himself. The events of their previous encounter with the Monster Riders was still fresh in his mind, but if he had to guess, the rest of the team had probably forgotten with all that had been going on back in their world.

The rest of Team Go-Getters all nodded understandingly. While the Giratina had been introducing them one at a time, they'd all been privately wondering about the weird and wonderful beasts accompanying the Monster Riders, which looked tougher than any dragon or Pokemon they'd ever seen.

" **Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, and Sightless the Gore Magala,** " Drageist started.

For the first time since arriving in the Distortion World, an armored black beast with a furry cape, six limbs, and no eyes stepped forward to stand beside Rider Hiccup. It opened its maw to let out a short screaming sound, to which Hiccup responded by patting its smooth shell.

"Wow…" murmured Trainer Hiccup, impressed by his counterpart's monster.

" **Astrid Hofferson, girlfriend of Hiccup, and Blackhawk the Yian Garuga.** "

The blonde shieldmaiden from the Monster Riders lifted her head high and walked forward until she, too, was standing beside her Hiccup. Her monster, a spiky bird-like creature with armored scales and pointed purple ears, opened its sharp beak and cawed proudly.

On the other side of the platform, Trainer Astrid folded her arms and examined her counterpart from afar, looking as though she were sizing her up. Rider Astrid noticed and responded with a stony glare of her own.

" **Arachne Philston, and Blizzard the Barioth.** "

The only preteen on Rider Hiccup's side grinned and waved enthusiastically, but had to stop in order to take off her horned helmet and brush away strands of her brown hair. There was a tiger-like monster at her side, clad in a thick white shell and bristling with black spikes on its wings and tail, and possessing a pair of bright orange tusks.

Before Drageist went on, Kickin' Hawk held up a talon to briefly interrupt. "Wait," he said, studying Arachne with interest. "Aren't you a little young to be riding on such a fearsome beast with your friends?"

The sabre-toothed wyvern didn't seem to take offense, only curled its long tail around Arachne as if it were a protective parent.

Arachne, though, crossed her arms and declared huffily, "I'm ten, thank you very much! And I'm a Viking – it's an occupational hazard."

"I was afraid you were going to say that," Snivels grumbled.

Drageist carried on with the introductions. " **Fishlegs Ingerman and Heatray the Gravios.** "

The huge, husky boy that had screamed at the sight of the Giratina earlier now shrank back nervously and gave a tiny wave. A comforting rumble came from his monster, a titan completely covered in a shell made of solid stone.

" **Snotlout Jorgenson and Snotsnarl the Tigrex.** "

Several individuals on Trainer Hiccup's side, especially Snivels, gave the muscular, arrogant Viking teen sour looks as he swaggered confidently forward. Oblivious to their scorn, he shot them a smug grin and opened his mouth to give his own introduction, probably one peppered with bragging remarks. However, he didn't get far before a tail swept his legs out from under him and made him fall on his face.

The blue-and-yellow monster Drageist had labeled as "Snotsnarl" turned back around to face the front, its dinosaurian face just as smug as its rider's had been a moment ago. It had four limbs that scraped the ground with their claws as it moved, two of which functioned as wingarms that it flexed proudly to show off its strength to the newcomers.

"I think I'll just call him 'Snarl'," Snivels said, not caring if anyone heard him or not.

" **Ruffnut and Tuffnut Thorston, Queen the Lunastra, and King the Teostra.** "

"Yeah, that's us!" Tuff declared excitedly.

"You idiot, he just said that!" Ruff grunted, kicking him in the shin.

"Ow!" he yelled, and angrily balled his fists. "Yeah, and you'd know a lot about being an idiot, wouldn't you? Because you _are_ one."

"Muttonhead!" his sister screamed, throwing a punch into his gut.

"Fish hair!"

"Dragon breath!"

"Bride of Grendel!"

Two monsters, each resembling a cross between a lion and a dragon, shook their magnificent heads in exasperation at the escalating fight. King was the red one, distinguished by his curling horns, while the blue Queen had a head ornament that looked more like a crown or headdress.

" **Finally,** " Drageist concluded, completely ignoring the brawling Thorstons, " **Twinhorn the Diablos and Snaketail Grundenson, girlfriend of Tuffnut.** "

"WHAT?!"

The entire company of Go-Getters shouted that single word, all of them shocked beyond belief. Even the non-speaking Pokemon and dragons let out their own roars or squawks to express themselves. Snaketail, a pretty girl with long brown hair, understood the reasoning behind their disbelief and scowled dangerously, while Ruff and Tuff immediately stopped fighting.

The first one to recover was Snivels. "We have a Tuffnut in our world too," he explained, although his voice was still shaky with surprise. "But if yours is anything like ours, then I can't imagine why any girl would go for him even if he was the last guy on the planet!"

"HEY!" the Thorston boy in question protested. "As it so happens, I am quite the catch. I throw out my fishing net and catch… me. Together with Snaketail. As fish. Is any of this making sense to you? Because I'm confusing myself."

"If you have a problem with who I choose to date, greenie, let's hear it," growled Snaketail herself, cracking her knuckles.

Twinhorn growled alongside her, a significantly more threatening sound due to the fact it was coming from a Triceratops-headed wyvern with a tail that ended in a sledgehammer. She spread her wings and pawed the ground, ready to charge at a moment's notice.

Snivels gulped and raised his tail, prepared to defend himself if necessary. Trainer Hiccup and Toothless sprang to his defense, but this only prompted a chain reaction from the rest of the Go-Getters and Monster Riders. Weapons were drawn and various creatures from different universes revealed their teeth and claws.

" **Okay, okay, settle down,** " Drageist warned them. " **I didn't bring you here just so you could throw insults around and beat each other up.** "

"That's no fun," complained Ruffnut.

"Snaketail, maybe now's not the time to be jumping down peoples' throats," Rider Hiccup advised.

At Drageist's stern words, the two groups settled down and backed away from each other. Snaketail looked disappointed there wouldn't be a fight, but didn't protest and obeyed her leader's implied command.

"So why _did_ you bring us here?" Blaze turned her head to Drageist. "Snivels was right – you've got some explaining to do."

The Giratina nodded his gigantic head, then slithered back and forth through the air above them, looking as though he was pacing. After a second or two, he finished that and floated down so that his body was resting on the same island on which everyone was gathered.

Then, abruptly, he spoke. " **Okay, so, the short answer is that I was bored.** "

A couple of the Go-Getters – Ninjark and Kickin' Hawk – abruptly facepalmed, while the rest of them just looked bewildered. The Monster Riders, knowing nothing about the Legendary Pokemon, simply exchanged glances and stayed silent.

" **A number of weeks ago,** " Drageist continued, " **Adhesive was filling me in about another universe that he'd discovered – the one the Monster Riders are a part of. I decided today that, instead of checking up on the Distortion World for the billionth time, I'd invite you all here for a little competition I thought of. Sound fun?** "

"What kind of competition?" Adhesive and Arachne both piped up simultaneously. They looked at each other and grinned with amusement. "Jinx!"

" **A dare war,** " Drageist replied, sounding proud of himself. " **Apparently it's a popular thing in several other universes. In a sentence, it involves a group of friends getting together and convincing each other to try idiotic stunts until only one remains.** "

The Thorston twins both whooped and shared an enthusiastic head-bash. "Sounds AWESOME!" they cheered.

"Sounds stupid," Blaze dismissed.

"U-Uh, I don't know," Fishlegs stammered. "It d-doesn't sound too safe…"

"Normally I'd agree," mused Heather, "but I have to admit, this time I'm intrigued. I've never heard of a competition to see who can pull off the stupidest prank before."

" **Well, there's a bit more to it than that,** " explained Drageist. " **You want me to go over the details before you all agree to play my game?** "

The Rider and Trainer Hiccups looked at each other, both feeling apprehensive. Neither of them thought that Drageist's idea sounded like a very good one, especially when it involved an activity that only Ruff and Tuff would find appealing. Rider Hiccup knew that if one of his friends suggested such an idea, he'd shoot it down immediately – and in Trainer Hiccup's case, he looked like he _was_ about to shoot it down.

But then both of them looked back at their respective groups and saw their friends' reactions. Most of the Monster Riders looked thrilled at the idea of a competition, making Rider Hiccup bite his lip – he knew they'd be disappointed if he denied them the chance for some fun. The Go-Getters, meanwhile, were more evenly split between yay-or-nay, but even the less enthusiastic ones seemed pretty curious.

The two Hiccups exchanged a glance and nodded silently.

"Alright," said Trainer Hiccup, addressing the giant serpent directly. "Drageist, we're willing to hear you out."

" **Excellent,** " he boomed. " **You'll each be split into teams, Monster Riders versus Go-Getters. The goal is to pick an opponent and challenge them to complete a task – the more embarrassing and challenging, the better.** "

Surprisingly, Ninjark raised his flipper. "So, for example, I could ask Snotlout to paddle across the cove in a bathtub, with his underpants on his head?"

"This idea doesn't sound too bad after all," Rider Astrid grinned, shooting the outraged Jorgenson boy a mocking smirk. The other Astrid put her hand over her mouth and tried not to laugh.

" **Yes, good example,** " Drageist praised the Greninja. " **But then, regardless of whether or not he succeeded in your dare, Snotlout would then take his turn to select his own victim. Then whomever he chooses will pick someone else, and it would continue to go back and forth after that.** "

Ruff, Tuff, Arachne, and Adhesive all grinned mischievously. "Sweeeeeeeet," they chorused.

" **Of course, there are other rules,** " Drageist went on. " **It wouldn't be very fun if that was all there was to it. Each of you will get two chances to fail. If you fail to complete a challenge three times, then you drop out of the competition. And, of course, you can't dare someone back, as it were. So no revenge dares.** "

"Yak dung," muttered Snotlout.

"That's fair," Snivels countered.

Now Kickin' Hawk raised his talon again. "Excuse me, but I imagine that you're also banning the use of potentially harmful dares?"

The Giratina nodded at the wise Hawlucha. " **Indeed. Of course, all of you will also have your dragons and your monsters to assist you when necessary. So jumping off a cliff, for example, isn't considered 'harmful' if you have a ride waiting to catch you.** "

"I'm really not feeling any better about this!" Fishlegs protested.

Unfortunately, Drageist ignored him. " **Finally, you'll have to pick your victims randomly so that it stays fair. Draw straws or something. Oh yes, and Ra and Camazotz count as one team member, Go-Getters. Any other questions?** "

Snivels instantly opened his mouth to yell out, "What if we get a really muttonheaded dare that we don't want to do?"

" **Then that counts as one of your two strikes,** " Drageist answered.

The Servine huffed and crossed his tiny arms, not looking very impressed by this whole "dare war" idea at all.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but this actually sounds like it could be fun," Trainer Astrid decided.

"All the Monster Riders are in!" announced Snaketail, wearing a confident expression. "Even Fishlegs is going to see reason once he gets the opportunity to humiliate Snotlout!"

"In Fishface's dreams!" he retorted.

Cautiously, both Rider Hiccup and Trainer Hiccup raised their hands. Drageist took note of them and nodded, granting them permission to speak their minds.

"We… we have questions as well," Rider Hiccup said, tentatively. "Um… so, what about our friends and families back on Berk? Won't they be missing us?"

" **No,** " responded Drageist. " **The Distortion World is a universe where the rules of time and space don't apply normally. Without getting into another long-winded explanation, I could keep you in here for a whole year before returning you, and you'd find that almost no time at all has passed in your home worlds.** "

"Uh… okay, sure," Rider Hiccup said. He decided that it'd probably best not to ask questions that'd only make him more confused.

"Second question," added Trainer Hiccup. "Where are we going to go for this dare war? I mean, we can't exactly stay on this chunk of rock in the middle of literally nowhere."

Even though Drageist's face was almost entirely covered with gold armor, everyone present got the idea that the Giratina was smiling at them.

" **You're about to find out,** " he said mysteriously…

…and suddenly, a black hole opened up beneath their feet.

With screams, yells, and roars, all of them – humans, dragons, monsters, and Pokemon – plummeted helplessly through the portal, unaware of what madness awaited them on the other side…

* * *

 **Cottonmouth25** **: A VERY important reminder – feel free to submit dares when you review, dear readers. I want you guys to have a say in what happens throughout this story. After all, a certain degree of interactivity is fun, right?**

 **ReptileGirl497** **: Some of the events that will be referenced in this that have yet to happen in How to Become a Trainer, so until the final part of A View to a Skrill is posted for my crossover, a Spoiler Alert is in session.**

 **NEXT CHAPTER: Trainer Hiccup dares Snotlout**


	2. It Begins

**_Chapter 2 – It Begins_**

 **Credit for this dare belongs to JDunks807.**

* * *

Across a blue sky and over an equally blue ocean, a total of eighteen winged shapes – a mix of flying Pokemon and monsters – soared toward the destination that had been selected for their upcoming challenge. Everyone's eyes were forward, staring in surprise at the location Drageist had sent them to. It was… unexpected, to say the least.

Looming on the horizon was an island, its familiar shape rising up out of the ocean. A tall mountain rose from its center to touch the clouds, buildings clustered together on its slopes, and carved Viking statues emerged from the waves with their weapons held at the ready, acting as the gatekeepers to this familiar land.

" **This is Berk,** " boomed Drageist, flying above the collection of Go-Getters and Monster Riders. " **It's five days north of Hopeless and a few degrees south of Freezing To Death. It's located solidly on –** "

"WE KNOW!"

The resounding shout came from the entire party of cross-dimensional travelers – those that were able to speak, anyway.

The Giratina, who had automatically transformed into his heavier Altered Form upon exiting the Distortion World, looked away and grumbled under his breath. " **Sure, spoil my moment, why don't you… never mind that I've always wanted to give that introduction…** "

The fact that Drageist had simply brought them all back home was unexpected and raised quite a few questions in everyone's heads. For example, which version of Berk was this? And why Berk, when he could've picked any other island?

Unbeknownst to the Monster Riders, Team Go-Getters was feeling a bit apprehensive about this, only for a much different reason. The incident with Mastermind that had occurred in their universe… well, it'd be a long time before they forgot it. Drageist bringing them to Berk reminded them vividly of how they'd ended up in the Monster Riders' universe and been forced to work together to battle the multidimensional alliance of villains that had been summoned to destroy them. The Monster Riders themselves had no memory of this adventure – but the Go-Getters did, and they sincerely hoped that this meeting wouldn't completely go to Helheim like the last one had.

With this in mind, Trainer Hiccup patted Toothless on the neck and steered the Night Fury up to speak with Drageist. But when he spoke his mind, what he got was an amused glance in return.

" **I know what I'm doing, young Hiccup,** " the Giratina rumbled. Despite his voice's natural volume being higher than most due to his immense size, he kept it quiet enough so that only the Haddock boy could hear it. " **Unlike last time, this meeting was planned and the circumstances carefully thought out. If a villain capable of harnessing the powers of time and space decides to strike at you children again… well, that'd just be the result of horrible, horrible luck.** "

"Oh yes, like we're total strangers to that," Hiccup quipped, prompting Drageist to chuckle at him.

* * *

Upon landing in Berk's central plaza, everyone's biggest question was answered. Specifically, that this version of Berk wasn't either of theirs.

" **I specifically selected this Berk for a few reasons,** " Drageist informed them all. " **Bringing you here will provide you with a familiar, comfortable environment, and won't have any effect at all on either of your timelines.** "

Rider Hiccup dismounted from Sightless and, after giving the Gore Magala a reassuring pat on the head, looked around the plaza with a cautious eye. There was no unusual activity in the slightest, despite the very noticeable gathering of Pokemon and monsters in one relatively small place. Although there were a few villagers ambling around, none of them responded at all to their arrival. It was as if two Hiccups, two Astrids, and a collection of creatures from different universes visited here every day. Not even the giant Drageist drew any stares.

"They're… taking this awfully well," Ninjark commented, noticing how suspiciously normal everything felt.

"Are there monsters in this universe as well?" questioned Fishlegs.

"Or Pokemon?" added Blaze.

Drageist shook his head. " **Neither of them – only dragons. I managed to enlist the help of a fellow Legendary Pokemon to make sure the villagers of this Berk were acclimatized to the presence of the more… unusual members of our group. Don't ask, it was a very complicated process.** "

Trainer Hiccup and Snivels exchanged a curious glance, wondering if it was Splice the Mewtwo who had helped out.

" **Well,** " the Giratina boomed all of a sudden. " **I really must be off. Make yourselves at home – meals are in the Meade Hall, and I also took the liberty of arranging a place for you all to sleep. There're some stables for your monsters, dragons, and Pokemon on the far side of the island, and a cabin where you'll have beds and an outhouse. Remember, I'll be watching out for you all. Later!** "

With that abrupt goodbye, Drageist promptly floated up into the air, opened a portal back to the Distortion World, and left them all on their own. Rider Hiccup ran forward, but stopped himself moments before he would have shouted out to an empty sky. He dropped his raised arm with a sigh, and went over to Sightless to give the Gore Magala a reassuring pat on his smooth, armored back.

"Did you all just see how he left us high and dry like that?" snapped Snivels, his nose and tail twitching with outrage. "I mean, first he springs this dare war on us, and then just dumps us here?!"

Trainer Hiccup felt a bump on his arm, and saw that it was Toothless attempting to nuzzle him. He let the Night Fury nudge his head under his arm, and gave him a good scratch on the chin as a show of affection. While he did that, he noticed how all of the humans and talking Pokemon were sticking close to their mounts. The dragons, monsters, and non-speaking Pokemon all looked calm, though.

 _I guess it's like Drageist said – this is a familiar, comfortable environment,_ Trainer Hiccup mused. _Well, for most of us anyway._

He gave Snivels a sympathetic glance, knowing how much the talkative Servine didn't like the village.

"Wh-What're we going to do?" Fishlegs was whimpering, pacing back and forth with nervousness. "W-We're stuck here on a Berk that isn't our Berk, a-and even though w-we only agreed to hear D-Drageist out on his idea, he's g-gone and left us without any m-more choice in the matter! Wh-What if we can never get back h-home?!"

His monster, Heatray, bent her neck towards him and let out a low, comforting rumble.

"Relax, you metal-head," Kickin' Hawk said, calmly but with an obvious amount of disdain. "Drageist has the power to easily bring us all back to our home worlds, and anyway, he _is_ watching over us."

"This little game of his wouldn't be nearly as fun if he couldn't spectate," agreed Brandyn.

Just then, a sudden crashing noise sent him running after Ra and Camazotz to stop them from breaking things. Heather glanced left and right, then scurried after him when it was clear no-one else was going to help her totally-not-a-boyfriend rein in the energetic Solgaleo and Lunala. Adhesive followed her in turn, although the other Go-Getters knew the mischievous Poipole was likely only tagging along for the amusement potential.

"So now what?" Arachne hummed.

"Um, duh!" Snotlout yelled. "We go to the Meade Hall to eat! We haven't had any time to get lunch with all this crazy alternate world stuff going on!"

The Thorston twins cheered at the thought of gorging themselves and shared a head-bash. "Good idea!" said Tuffnut. "Then we can all start thinking up ways to humiliate each other in this awesome dare contest!"

"This is gonna be epic," snickered Ruff.

Both Astrids simultaneously rolled their eyes and muttered "Muttonheads…" under their breath. They heard each other, though, and immediately gave each other a suspicious glare.

Rider Astrid was the first to look away, distracted by a strange pendant that she'd just noticed around Trainer Astrid's neck. She'd have to ask about that later.

While they both hated to admit it, Rider Hiccup and Trainer Hiccup thought that the egotistical Jorgenson boy had a good point. They should take it slowly for now, fill their bellies, and then try to organize things from that point on.

"Monster Riders, does that all sound good to you?" Rider Hiccup asked his group.

"And you, Team Go-Getters?" Trainer Hiccup did likewise.

The two groups exchanged questioning glances amongst each other. The Monster Riders were the first bunch to come to an accord – all of them hungry and wanting some food to distract them from the weirdness they'd had to endure today. They gave their leader a unanimous nod. Meanwhile, the Go-Getters seemed a bit more apprehensive about the whole deal, none of them being comfortable with Berk, or Vikings in general, and some of them were a bit more impatient with Drageist and his idea of fun.

But, eventually, the Go-Getters settled on an agreement and gave their Hiccup a single nod.

"Okay, that's all settled then," announced Rider Hiccup, taking charge of the situation. "Let's all grab some food, then we'll take our monsters – oh, a-and dragons too – over to the far side of the island. I'm curious about what that Drageist has set up for us."

"Because he was never going to give us a chance to say no to this, I'll bet," Snivels muttered under his breath.

Brandyn, Heather, and Adhesive came back to the plaza after retrieving Ra and Camazotz, where they were given a brief rundown on the current state of affairs by Kickin' Hawk and Blaze. Once they were up to speed, everyone jumped into their saddles, mounting whatever giant flying creature they had with them. The Hiccups took the lead as they always did, rising into the air on their Night Fury and Gore Magala. Behind them, the others didn't bother trying to assemble into some sort of formation, and instead flew in a disorganized flock that followed the two scrawny, brown-haired Haddock boys toward the Meade Hall.

* * *

As it turned out, there was plenty of space in the Meade Hall for the whole group of Drageist's "guests" to sit and eat comfortably. The hall was largely unoccupied at this time of day, with most of the Berkians having finished their lunches already and going back to their daily lives in the village. By working together, the Monster Riders and Go-Getters pushed two tables together for them all to sit down, and pushed away the other tables so that the monsters, Pokemon, and dragons had enough space of their own to eat.

"We need to put the tables back where we found them after we're done," Kickin' Hawk dictated. "It'd be poor manners if we didn't clean up after ourselves."

Rolling his eyes, Snotlout grumbled, "I'll show you poor manners…"

When they were done rearranging the furniture, they went to get food. They only took plates for themselves after they'd gotten plenty for their mounts. Some, like Toothless and Blackhawk, were happy with a pile of fish. Others, like Stormfly and Snotsnarl, wanted meat. And then there were some oddballs like Twinhorn, Verne, and Wavern, who ate only vegetables or fruit.

"I don't think it'll be possible to have our partners with us every time we eat here," Snaketail commented, watching her Diablos munch on the cabbages she'd set out. "It's too much hassle to clear space like this, even more so to un-clear it like Bird Boy said."

"Drageist said something about stables earlier," mused Ninjark, ignoring Kickin' Hawk's indignant spluttering at the nickname he'd been given. "They'll probably have enough space to eat there while we have our meals here."

"Do we have to?" asked Snivels, wrinkling his pointy snout with distaste. A couple of the Pokemon made similar faces, silently agreeing with him.

The Servine felt a hand on his back, and he looked up to see Trainer Hiccup smiling sympathetically at him. "Let's not worry about that for now. At the moment, I'd say we have something more important to discuss."

Ruffnut and Tuffnut suddenly looked up, each with a chicken leg sticking out of their mouths. They mumbled something that sounded like "We didn't do it," but it was hard to tell with their faces stuffed like that.

With a _the-twins-are-muttonheads_ expression, Rider Hiccup shook his head at them before addressing the rest of the group. "He's talking about the dare war. And I agree, we need to go over the rules and make sure everyone's okay with proceeding. The, uh… other Hiccup and I thought it'd be best to talk about it over lunch."

He got a series of nods and mutters of consideration all around the table as everyone agreed.

"So, the rules then," started Rider Astrid. Slamming her mug down on the table for emphasis, she counted on her fingers, "We're to divide into teams, pick who dares who, there's no revenge dares allowed, and we can only fail twice each before we're out of the game… anything else?"

"The person who got dared last gets to pick someone from the opposite team," Blaze remembered.

"And nothing dangerous!" Camazotz piped up cheerfully.

"Oh, and Cama and I count as one member on Team Go-Getters," added Ra, sharing a grin with his Lunala friend (whom he secretly had feelings for but wasn't quite brave enough to tell her).

Fishlegs seemed as though he was about to say something, then thought better of it and stayed silent. Trainer Hiccup noticed, and glanced at the Ingerman boy.

"You got something, Fishlegs?" he prompted.

"W-Well," the huskiest person present began, "I get the feeling we should keep our dares on the down-low as much as possible. I-I mean, even though this isn't really _our_ Berk, it's still a village with people living in it."

That was a good point, and judging from some of the expressions around the table, a few of them hadn't actually thought of that.

"Good call," Rider Hiccup gave his fellow Monster Rider a nod of approval. "You hear that, guys? We should stick to causing as little property damage or public chaos as possible."

"But _some_ property damage is okay, right?" asked Tuff, sounding hopeful.

"And public chaos?" Adhesive hinted.

 _Oh good gods,_ both Hiccups thought at the same time, judging from the identical eye-rolls they gave.

"As _little as possible_ ," Snivels glared at both of them. "Nothing that'll get you banished by the big Viking jerk in charge, alright?"

That statement was met by a number of weird looks from the Monster Riders, who knew nothing of how little Snivels liked a certain Stoick the Vast.

Perhaps to prevent the moment from becoming too awkward, Brandyn coughed loudly. Once all eyes were on him, he spoke up, "So, if we've got all the rules straight, I suppose it's time to pick who dares who?"

"I guess that's a solid course of action to take," admitted Rider Astrid. "Seeing as how we don't really have a choice but to go through with this, anyway."

What they needed, though, was a fair way to decide the first contestants. There was no way they'd be able to agree on who would start the dare war, especially with the mischievous twins and the competitive Snotlout and Snaketail all on the same team. Even a few of the Go-Getters looked more eager to get started than the others.

When the Hiccups brought up the issue, Fishlegs brightened unexpectedly quickly and said that he had a solution. Promising that he'd be back as soon as he could, he raced out of the Meade Hall with a speed belying his size.

By the time Fishlegs got back with something clutched in his hands, several minutes later, the Monster Riders and Go-Getters were in a heated discussion about what kinds of dares they wanted to give each other as part of the game. The two Astrids were giving each other challenging glares and promised not to hold back no matter what. Ruff and Tuff wanted to blow something up, or generally cause enough mayhem to make Loki proud. Ninjark insisted that his underpants idea should be used at some point, making Heather look at her Greninja partner with amusement. Even Snivels and Kickin' Hawk, who hadn't been too keen on the dare war to begin with, were starting to look interested as more dare suggestions were thrown around.

 _Maybe they've realized the appeal of being able to humiliate Snotlout and the twins,_ Trainer Hiccup reasoned, hiding a chuckle.

"Okay!" exclaimed Fishlegs, sitting back down. He placed the object in his hands onto the table, revealing it to be an upside-down Viking helmet. "I had to borrow my mom's helmet because mine wasn't big enough."

Those who were closest to Fishlegs leaned forward to peer inside the helmet, while those who were too far away had to get up and gather around. The inside of the helmet was filled with small, folded slips of parchment. As a demonstration, Fishlegs plucked one and unfolded it to reveal the name 'ADHESIVE' written in large Norse letters.

"I've got everyone's name written down and mixed up within the helmet in front of me," he explained carefully, and put Adhesive's slip back. "First, I'm going to determine who is going to make the first dare by randomly choosing a name. Then, I'll do the same thing again, this time to decide who gets to receive the dare. Does everyone understand?"

There were nods all around, and a few thumbs-up. Several of the contestants fidgeted or bounced up and down with excitement.

Fishlegs inhaled deeply, then let it out in a sigh. "Alright, let's get this over with, then," he said with a gulp of discomfort.

Everyone held their breath as he flexed his clammy fingers and proceeded to rustle around in the helmet, trying to make the selection as random as possible. At last, he fished out a piece of parchment and unfolded it.

"The one who gets to dare first is… Hiccup No. 2," he announced, flashing the name for everyone to see.

Rider Hiccup and Trainer Hiccup reacted exactly the same way, by blinking once and tilting their heads in complete bewilderment. Neither of them knew which one of them Fishlegs had labeled "number two".

"Oh, sorry," Fishlegs himself suddenly apologized, realizing his mistake. "Since me and the other riders already know a Hiccup, I decided to write down the other one as 'Hiccup No. 2'. So, that'd be you," he nodded to Trainer Hiccup.

"Ah," the leader of Team Go-Getters said, no longer confused. "Well, okay then. Guess this is happening."

Snotlout burst out laughing. "Oh _man_! You're Hiccup _Two_! That's gotta sting."

Snivels shot them a look of annoyance. "Really? That was the best you could come up with? If there's gonna be two of someone in this dare war, why not call each of them by some sort of code name? Like…" He paused to think for a moment before suggesting, "Dreki?"

"No!" Trainer Hiccup protested before burying his face in his hands. "Please, anything but that."

Adhesive opened his mouth to speak, only for Blaze to silence him with a glare. "We're not using Onomato."

The Poipole slumped down in disappointment.

"What about Triple H?" Kickin' Hawk suggested.

It was rather brilliant, except for one small detail. "Which Hiccup are we gonna refer to as that?" Ninjark asked.

The Hawlucha was silent for a moment before admitting, "I haven't figured that out yet."

Rider Astrid raised an eyebrow at the group. "This is an important conversation right now?"

At just that moment, Fishlegs took another name out of the helmet and read, "The one who receives Hiccup's dare will be Snotlout."

The arrogant Jorgenson's face immediately darkened. "Oh _man_ …" he repeated, in a completely different tone.

Arachne jumped up in the air with an excited whoop. "We're starting with a classic Hiccup vs. Snotlout!" she cheered, applauding. "Come on, Hiccup Two, hit him with your best dare!"

"Yeah, hit me with your best dare!" Snotlout, well, dared his cousin's alternate self, going from disappointed to confident in no time at all. "I can take it!"

Trainer Hiccup didn't say anything at first, being too irritated with the nickname "Hiccup Two" and with Snotlout's general Snotlout-ness. He'd spent so much time away from Berk with the Go-Getters that he'd almost forgotten just how insufferable the Jorgenson could be. But what could he dare him with? Snotlout would go along with anything he suggested, no matter how stupid it was, and he'd either succeed and become even more boastful, or fail and take only a minimal blow to his pride.

 _His pride_. That gave Trainer Hiccup a sudden flash of inspiration. He'd just figured out how he could take the muttonheaded braggart down in the very first round.

"Okay, I've got something," he stated. He stood up from his seat and faced Snotlout directly, who puffed out his chest, and gave him his challenge – "I dare you to admit that the Hiccup in your universe is a better Monster Rider than you are."

Instantly, the table became quiet. Snotlout deflated, an empty look in his eyes. The other Monster Riders, including their Hiccup, stilled themselves as if they'd been hit with Speed Stinger venom. The Go-Getters looked more openly shocked, staring at either Trainer Hiccup or Snotlout with their eyes almost bugging from their sockets.

"Wow," Blaze finally said. "That's good, Hiccup."

"I'd like to see Snotface pull _this_ one off!" Snivels smirked, in a much better mood all of a sudden.

"You, uh, didn't have to put me on the spot like that," Rider Hiccup chuckled nervously.

Gradually, everyone's gaze wandered to Snotlout, waiting to see what he'd do. The Jorgenson boy had yet to respond, or even move. All he was doing was staring blankly at the table in front of him, seemingly wrestling with a decision. Obviously, the ramifications of Trainer Hiccup's dare had hit him hard in a sensitive spot.

And he wasn't the only one. Arachne shrank back uncomfortably, fidgeting in place. Out of all the Monster Riders, she was the only one Snotlout had confessed his innermost insecurities to. Contrary to how he acted, he was well aware that he wasn't nearly as skilled as most of the other Monster Riders, and had to live with that every time he showed up to a training lesson. His monster, Snotsnarl the Tigrex, didn't even listen to him most of the time. The little Philston girl knew that Snotlout's loud boasts were really just a cover to hide behind, not wanting to show weakness to anyone.

Of course, growing up in the Jorgenson clan with Spitelout as a father probably didn't help.

"Hey, maybe this isn't such a good idea…" she began uncertainly.

"Come on, Snot can take it," grinned Rider Astrid, swatting the unresponsive Jorgenson on the shoulder.

"Besides, he can't fail Team Monster Riders now!" added Ruffnut. "It's only the first round!"

"Of course, he could always decide not to and give Team Go-Getters the point," Adhesive offered, his voice mischievously innocent.

"Snotlout! Snotlout!" Tuffnut began to chant, pumping his fist in the air each time. Ruff joined in, followed by Snaketail and Arachne, and even Fishlegs hesitantly added his voice to the impromptu cheerleading squad. That only left Rider Hiccup and Astrid, who glanced awkwardly at one another and stayed silent.

Meanwhile, the Go-Getters sat back and watched, interested to see how things would play out from here. They didn't have long to wait.

"EVERYONE SHUT YOUR FACES!"

Snotlout's outburst stunned everyone into silence. His fists clenched, he looked up to cast an irritated glare at his teammates for making so much noise. It was bad enough that he was being forced to do this, they didn't have to turn it into a huge spectacle. He stood up a little straighter and drew a deep, calming breath through his nose.

As the silence continued to drag on, Rider Hiccup furtively shot his cousin a concerned glance. He'd never seen him like this, so uncomfortable to the point of sudden rage. Maybe Arachne was right, and this was a bad dare for –

"Alright, Hiccup's the better Monster Rider."

For the second time, everyone was shocked into speechlessness, Monster Riders and Go-Getters included. Even some of the watching dragons and monsters seemed surprised. Snotlout scanned the people around him with a stony face, as though his confession was actually paining him inside and he was determined not to show it. But he was a hundred percent serious, and on top of that, he sounded _genuine_.

"There, I said it," he grumbled. "You happy now?"

Out of them all, no-one was more surprised than Trainer Hiccup. This wasn't what he'd been expecting in the slightest – he was trusting that the alternate Snotlout behaved exactly like the Snotlout from his own dimension. Clearly, he'd been mistaken.

 _I guess our worlds aren't as similar as I thought,_ the Pokemon-training Haddock boy realized, feeling a bit numb.

On the other hand, Rider Hiccup looked honest-to-Odin _proud_ (and still a little stunned) as he went over to give Snotlout a congratulatory pat on the shoulder. "Good job, Snotlout! If I'm being perfectly honest, I didn't think you had it in you."

"I don't think _any_ of us did," Snaketail corrected. The other Monster Riders nodded in agreement with her.

"True that," Ninjark replied. He sounded a little awed, like he was only half-convinced he wasn't dreaming.

"This is still Snotlout, right?" asked Snivels, raising a brow.

Suddenly, Snotlout got up and climbed up on top of the table so that he was towering over everybody present. In a voice raised to a shout, he claimed, "But Hiccup won't be the best forever! Snotsnarl and I train our butts off with the rest of the riders every day, and eventually our hard work is gonna pay off! Let me tell you this – there will come a day where the Snotlout climbs up from the bottom to lead the Monster Riders! You'll see! You'll _all_ see!"

He dropped his fork and declared, "Snotlout, outlout!" before jumping down from the table and storming out the doors, shoulders hunched with frustration. With a growl, Snotsnarl followed him outside – as the Tigrex passed, a few people noticed that he almost looked _impressed_.

After a second, Heather asked, "Does that answer your question, Snivels?"

* * *

 **Cottonmouth255** **: You honestly thought we'd fail someone this early in the story? Think again. I didn't want Snotlout to seem too out of character, but it's not like he hasn't swallowed his pride before. I think I did a good job explaining why he was able to complete the dare.**

 **Also, after the first couple of chapters, the chapters will start getting shorter. These ones are only so long because of all the introductions, rules, and other necessary information that needs to be conveyed. Once that's all done, we can focus completely on the dares and whatever other random bits we want to throw in for variety.**

 **ReptileGirl497** **: Hope you guys like the references to some of the previous occurrences in my series. That is, if you understand them, of course. Maybe Cottonmouth might throw in some more of his own?**

 **NEXT CHAPTER: Snotlout dares Snivels**


	3. Of Roommates and Drinking

**_Chapter 3 – Of Roommates and Drinking_**

 **Credit for this dare belongs to my companion, ReptileGirl497.**

* * *

After their… eventful… lunch in the Meade Hall, Trainer Hiccup and Rider Hiccup dictated to their respective teams that they'd go ahead and investigate their living quarters. Allegedly, Drageist had set up a place for them to stay during their time on this alternate version of Berk. The rest of the dare war participants had unanimously agreed, unless you counted Ruff and Tuff (which Snivels and most of Team Go-Getters certainly didn't).

The twins had wanted to continue the dare war immediately, but a mildly threatening comment from Rider Hiccup about cleaning the monster stables for a month got them to reluctantly comply.

Once they'd cleaned up their meals and rearranged their tables back to where they'd found them, the Monster Riders and Go-Getters filed out the immense double doors and met back up with Snotlout. The Jorgenson boy and his Tigrex had been waiting at the bottom of the hill for them since making their dramatic exit from the Meade Hall earlier. Now that they were all together, they climbed aboard their various winged mounts and took off, with both Hiccups and Snivels in the lead.

The village of Berk was soon behind them, and the entire group now found themselves flying over the vast forest that made up the majority of the island. Rider and Trainer Hiccup kept up the lead, with Sightless the Gore Magala and Toothless the Night Fury easily able to keep pace with one another. Following after them were the two Astrids and Blaze. Everyone else was lumped together in a messy formation behind the Blaziken and Hofferson girls.

At one point, Trainer Hiccup turned in Toothless' saddle, checking to see if the others were all following, and couldn't help but notice how disorganized the flock of monsters, dragons, and Pokemon were. He frowned to himself and faced the front again, thinking – if they were going to be stuck in this alternate dimension for a significant length of time, they might have to do some training so that everyone had an idea of how to fly in such a large group.

"So, where did your friend Drageist tell us to go?" Rider Hiccup raised his voice over the wind as he called to Trainer Hiccup.

The leader of the Go-Getters surfaced from his thoughts and glanced over at his counterpart. "I think he said it was on the far side of the island," he replied. "You'll have to lead the way. My team and I haven't visited Berk in a while, so we're not as familiar with it as we should be."

"Really?" Rider Hiccup asked, blinking in surprise. He hadn't expected that. "If you don't live on Berk, then where…?"

"A place called the Ice Caves," Snivels chimed in. He goaded his Noivern to fly a bit faster in order to keep up with the Gore Magala and Night Fury. "It's, uh, kind of complicated as to why. Stuff involving Legendary Pokemon and a prophecy. You know, the kind of thing that can't fully be explained on a leisurely flight."

Rider Hiccup blinked a second time. Once again, he hadn't exactly expected that. Though Snivels didn't seem to pick up on his surprise – rather, the Servine guided Verne closer to Sightless so he could reach out and give the Gore Magala a friendly pat on the snout. Sightless didn't seem to mind, even dipping his head down to scream softly in greeting.

"I agree. We should really wait until we're properly settled in before we start sharing information about our different universes," came Kickin' Hawk's voice from close beneath them.

Flabbergasted, Rider Hiccup peered over Sightless' side to try and spot Kickin' Hawk, which Trainer Hiccup and Snivels both observed with amused chuckles. The Hawlucha wasn't actually flying – since he didn't have a mount of his own – but rather using his feathery cape to hop between treetops, gliding smoothly from one to the other.

 _Wow, that seems really useful_ , observed Rider Hiccup, taking a moment to watch Kickin' Hawk's progress. _Maybe I could try making a cape like that for myself sometime._

He frowned to himself all of a sudden, the idea quickly leaving his mind in favor of something else. He noticed something about Snivels and Kickin' Hawk – and Trainer Hiccup, and actually the whole party of Go-Getters, now that he was really thinking about it. None of them seemed to think the Monster Riders or their monsters were any sort of big deal. Even when they'd first taken off, and Sightless leapt into the air with a dramatic scream while flaring his cloak-like wings, none of them had reacted as much as Rider Hiccup was expecting. Even Alvin the Treacherous had expressed fear and shock during their first battle, when they'd first used the trained monsters against the Outcasts.

If Rider Hiccup didn't know any better, he'd think that Team Go-Getters had experience dealing with monsters.

 _But that's impossible, isn't it?_

He was startled back to reality when Snivels shouted something. Sightless growled and jostled him a bit, just to make sure he was awake, to which he responded by patting the Gore Magala reassuringly on the neck.

"What was that?" he asked apologetically.

The Servine rolled his eyes, but nonetheless repeated what he'd said. "I asked you if that clearing up ahead was supposed to be there."

Instantly spotting the clearing in question, Rider Hiccup shook his head. "It doesn't look familiar, no. And I think I see something built in the center of it."

"Sounds worth checking out, if you ask me," remarked Trainer Hiccup, who then raised his voice loud enough for the rest of their large group to hear. "Okay gang, we're heading down! Follow us!"

* * *

The living quarters that Drageist had arranged for them was actually quite well thought-out in its construction. Even Snivels, who was generally irritated by this whole situation, had to admit that the Giratina had done an exemplary job with their accommodations. It was an extremely simple building, but one that was built well enough to house all of the Monster Riders and Go-Getters comfortably. There were two large barracks, one for the boys and one for the girls, as well as a small room for bathing and an outhouse situated outside. Most of the building, however, was taken up by stables for the monsters, dragons, and…

"Ride Pokemon!" exclaimed Arachne, grinning ear to ear. "Come on, it's a perfect name!"

She, and the rest of the females, were in the midst of checking out their shared sleeping quarters. They'd just gotten back from examining the stables, which turned out to have pens perfectly suited for their partners. It was kind of crazy, to be honest. Even Fishlegs' Gravios, who was _massive_ in comparison to literally anything ridden by the Go-Getters, had her own customized pen with plenty of room to walk around in.

When the girls had left for their room, the Ingerman boy had _still_ been in the middle of geeking out over the craftsmanship.

"I don't hate it," Blaze remarked, in response to Arachne's suggestion.

"It's a little uncreative," Heather quipped softly, as she sat down on the foot of her bed and bounced lightly on the mattress.

"Arachne's always saying stuff like that," Rider Astrid explained, walking over to give Arachne an affectionate cuff to the head. "We just kinda take it in stride at this point. Although this time, her comment wasn't all that weird."

The ten-year-old giggled, giddy at the attention being paid to her by her role model, but before she could say anything, the other Astrid present spoke up from the other corner of the room.

"Who even _is_ she, anyway?" asked Trainer Astrid, though not unkindly. "In all my time living on Berk, I've never seen anyone remotely like her, so she's clearly not from the village."

The female Go-Getters gave Arachne curious glances – obviously, they'd only just noticed it now that Trainer Astrid had pointed it out, but it was the truth. Arachne didn't resemble anyone they'd known previously to forming Team Go-Getters, and for all they knew, she might not even exist in their universe.

But the Monster Riders – that is, Rider Astrid, Ruffnut, and Snaketail – nodded. "Yeah, she's not originally from Berk," replied the latter. "Same as me. Both of us lost our homes and sailed there. We were lucky that Stoick was generous enough to give us a place to stay – although it might've had something to do with the fact he stuck me in monster-killing classes with Hiccup and the rest almost immediately."

Blaze hummed uncertainly. She got the feeling Snivels and Kickin' Hawk would scoff at the idea of Stoick the Vast having any good qualities.

Heather was also quiet. Now that Astrid had brought up Arachne's and Snaketail's natures as foreigners, she couldn't help but notice that someone else was missing. Someone important to her, and the main reason she'd felt so attracted to – _ahem_. The main reason she felt so _friendly_ with Brandyn. But she was reluctant to bring him up, both for her own embarrassment and the fact she'd have to explain the entire incident with Mastermind, including the memory wipe.

She couldn't see that going over well with some of the Riders.

"Well, anyway," Rider Astrid said, walking over to one of the beds. "As long as we're here with each other, we're gonna have to get used to each other at some point."

She stopped at one bed and made to get up on it, only to stop. At the same time she put her knee up, someone else had done the same thing. They both looked up in surprise and found themselves looking into their own flabbergasted expression.

Trainer Astrid was the first to back off, her eyes narrowing as a scowl twisted her face. "Would you stop getting in my way?" she snapped, before walking across the room to take a different bed.

Shocked and appalled at the sudden hostility from her Trainer counterpart, the Hofferson girl aggressively speed-walked after her and grabbed her shoulder, spinning her around forcefully. Trainer Astrid glared daggers at her for her roughness, but she simply glared right back.

"What is your problem?" Rider Astrid demanded.

The room became deathly quiet, and the tension was thick in the air. The other girls' eyes were locked nervously on what seemed to be a potential fight brewing, and none of them dared moved. No-one, not even Ruff, was dumb enough to try and get in between _two_ angry Astrid freaking Hoffersons.

After what seemed like forever, Trainer Astrid finally huffed and broke eye contact, storming off to sit down on her chosen bed in the far corner of the room. An uncomfortable silence stretched on, until a grunt from Ruffnut suddenly broke it.

"Ugh, I'm so bored," the female Thorston complained. She jumped off of her bed and grabbed one of the rafters, expertly swinging herself up and over before getting into an upside-down position with her legs. "When is Snotlout gonna pick someone to dare? I wanna see some embarrassment and humiliation already!"

Sighing, Blaze used a claw to gently push Ruff's dangling braid out of her face. "Good to know you have a one-track mind as always. After Snotlout's dare, I was beginning to think all of you had changed."

"What, you thought he'd fail?" Arachne grinned at the Blaziken.

She shook her head incredulously. "I'm _still_ trying to figure out if that was a dream or not. The Snotlout on our Berk wouldn't have done that in a thousand years."

Rider Astrid mimicked the smaller girl's grin. "Underestimating us will be your loss, Go-Getters."

"Don't tell me you're actually getting into this whole dare war thing," Trainer Astrid raised an eyebrow at her.

(Her? Herself? This alternate universe stuff could really give someone a headache.)

"Well yeah," Rider Astrid replied casually, her grin getting wider as she rolled her shoulders, as if challenging the other Astrid. "What's wrong with a little competition? And the opportunity to see Snotlout humiliated is just a bonus."

Normally, Trainer Astrid would probably agree with this. She was a lot more used to this whole dimensional travel thing than the other Astrid, thanks to being friends with Drageist and her involvement in the Mastermind incident. Thus, she had no reason to be suspicious about this situation, as the Monster Riders probably should have.

She frowned to herself when she realized that there wasn't really any reason for her hostile behavior, either. There was just this… inexplicable _dislike_ that rose up every time she so much as looked as the other Hofferson. Why was that?

A knock at the door dispelled the worrying thoughts swirling inside Trainer Astrid's head. Blaze and Arachne, who were closest to the exit, both stood up to answer, only for Astrid to push past them both and answer it herself. She pulled the door open with a little bit more force than was necessary, and ended up staring Adhesive in the face.

"Hello there!" the Poipole greeted.

"General Kenobi!" Arachne answered, grinning mischievously.

Simultaneously, everyone present asked, "What?"

The ten-year-old only replied, "Nothing."

The girls all walked outside, Adhesive floating out of their way as they did, and they found themselves joining all of the male Monster Riders and Go-Getters out in the clearing. Snivels and Kickin' Hawk looked annoyed, Ninjark and Brandyn were neutral-faced, Snotlout and Tuffnut wore positively evil grins, and Fishlegs and the Hiccups looked as though they wished they could be anywhere else.

"I hate to break it to you," Brandyn remarked, "but Snotlout's decided on our next dare."

* * *

 **Minutes Earlier**

After the boys had managed to drag an enthusiastic Fishlegs away from the stables, they quickly got arranged in their sleeping quarters. Snotlout was the first to claim a bed for himself, by running through the door and taking a flying leap onto the mattress nearest to the door. Snivels was next, seemingly responding to the arrogant Jorgenson boy's action by choosing the bed farthest away from the door as possible.

After the Servine, everyone else went around and picked their own beds with much less gusto. The Go-Getters, wanting to stick together, went and clustered at the back of the room with Snivels. That left the beds at the front of the room free for the Monster Riders to settle down in, which they did so without complaint.

Rider Hiccup sat down on his bed experimentally, observing how the soft mattress sunk down to accommodate his weight. He'd never felt anything quite like this, since most Viking beds were mostly just a large plank of wood with a pillow and blanket on top. It might take some getting used to.

He glanced up from his examination of the mattress, and ended up meeting the eyes of Trainer Hiccup. The other Hiccup smiled wryly, and commented, "What're the odds? Guess that means my own face is going to be the first thing I see every sunrise."

Indeed, the two Hiccups had ended up choosing beds right next to each other, which Rider Hiccup observed with a surprised blink.

"Huh," he said. "This could probably take some getting used to."

"I'll say!" came Snotlout's familiar brash voice, loud enough to demand the attention of everyone else in the room. "Every morning will be like the aftereffects of a mead-drinking contest with my dad!"

"What's that now?" asked Ninjark.

"He means he'll be seeing double," Fishlegs sighed, with an offhand gesture to the two Hiccups. "It's a side effect of drinking too much mead."

"Or being bashed in the head!" Tuffnut eagerly added. "And then you wake up with a Thor-awful headache. That part's totally not cool."

"Yeah, uh, I've never really seen the appeal," Trainer Hiccup gave a nervous chuckle. "For mead _or_ getting bashed, I mean."

Most of the Go-Getters let out derisive noises, Snivels' scoff being the loudest of all. "Seriously, who'd want to guzzle barrels full of nasty-tasting liquid that impairs your brain and causes you to hallucinate so that you act like a total moron until you black out with no memory of it at all? That disgusting habit is just one of the many things that makes Vikings so intolerable if you ask me."

The Grass-type Pokemon prince turned away from the others with an indignant huff. They all stared blankly at his back, stunned by his sudden rant.

"Hey, we are _not_ intolabarabble!" protested Tuff. "Or however you pronounce that word! Which I totally know the meaning of!"

"You're just proving his point, you know," muttered Kickin' Hawk. "Vikings…"

Adhesive raised a hand enthusiastically. "Hey, I once did some research on the subject and found a formula to determine any person's individual tolerance for alcohol consumption! Want me to list all the symptoms of poisoning by overdose?"

"Ooh, can you?" asked Fishlegs, always eager for knowledge.

"Some other time," replied Trainer Hiccup, to calm the Poipole down. To the Monster Riders, he explained, "None of us are really that big on a lot of Viking customs and traditions."

"It doesn't help that you've got absolutely no tolerance," Ninjark pointed out. The Greninja's tone sounded slightly teasing.

"Wait, you've seen Hiccup drink?" Adhesive gasped, sounding like his birthday had just come early. "When? Where? Why? What was it like? How drunk was he? I NEED DETAILS!"

A pillow came flying from Kickin' Hawk's side of the room and knocked him out of the air, ending up squashing him beneath it. "M'okay," he mumbled.

"Please," Snivels laughed, almost mockingly. "If you think _Hiccup_ can't drink to save his life, look at me! Just one gulp down my throat and I go completely off my rocker! How anyone can stomach that gunk is beyond me."

Almost everyone gave the Servine a surprised glance, not having expected him to have blurted out something like that. But no-one saw the inspired gleam spring to life in Snotlout's eyes until the Jorgenson boy let out a shout.

"Aha!" he crowed. "I just figured out who I'm going to dare for the dare war!"

There was a groan from Snivels. "Oh, great. Do you have to bring that up _now_ , Snotface? You've already put me in a bad mood."

"As a matter of fact, I do," he retorted, smugly. "And it's a dare especially for you, Big Nose, so listen up to what the Snotlout has to say!"

Suddenly livid, Snivels whipped around in record time to glare daggers at him for the nickname, but Snotlout was already talking again. "I dare you to drink a whole tankard of mead in one go, tonight at dinner!"

Immediately, Snivels retorted, "No way. Not on your life."

"J-Just like that?" Fishlegs stammered, shocked.

"Uh, dude, you know that counts as one of your strikes," added Tuff. "Your team would be that much closer to losing. Hey, I pay attention sometimes!" he added when he got several surprised looks.

"Please?" begged Adhesive. "You can't forfeit this early in the dare war! Your team needs to see you – _ahem._ I mean, um, your team needs you."

Ninjark gave him the evil eye.

Brandyn, who had been silent up until now, nodded and agreed. "Normally I wouldn't pressure anyone into doing something they don't want to, but if Snivels loses, we have to put up with Snotlout after winning fair and square. Even if it is by default."

The Go-Getters entered a horrified silence as they digested the possibility of what that might be like.

His tail and nose twitching with barely-contained anger, Snivels admitted defeat. "Alright, fine! I'll do it." He turned to glare at Snotlout, adding, "When I die, you stay away from my funeral."

* * *

 **Present**

"…and that's what happened," Ninjark finished the story.

The girls all exchanged glances. The three female Go-Getters, to their credit, were visibly concerned, while the Monster Riders had expressions that ranged from deadpan to amused.

"Doesn't sound too bad," mused Snaketail. "I mean, all he has to do is drink it. Anything that happens afterward won't matter. It should be an easy win."

"I don't know," Trainer Astrid countered, biting her lip. "Snivels is a Grass-type Pokemon, so his body depends more on liquid than ours do. Alcohol might have more of an effect on him."

"Perfect!" grinned Snotlout. "Let's hurry up and see –"

He didn't get to finish, because Rider Astrid had kicked him in the shin to shut him up.

Snivels himself stepped forward just then, trembling with annoyance. He looked angrier with himself than with anyone else – understandable, seeing as how he'd apparently given in and agreed to this ridiculous dare.

"I just want to go on record as saying that I'm doing this for my team," he muttered. "So we won't have to put up with any of Snotface's bragging."

"That's the spirit," Brandyn snarked lightly.

* * *

Dinner in the Meade Hall was all well and good, but to Snivels it only served as a reminder of the feat he had to pull off. His usual medium-sized cup of fresh spring water was snatched away and replaced by a full tankard of mead by a smirking Snotlout.

He was thirsty, there was no denying it. But not for that contaminated sludge those Vikings dared to call a drink. The Servine ate his meal slowly, hoping to delay the inevitable embarrassment for as long as possible.

"Will you tell your pet snake to hurry up already?!" an impatient Snotlout demanded to Trainer Hiccup.

" _Pet?!_ " Snivels repeated angrily. "I am not a pet! I'll have you know you're talking about the son of King Solidago and Queen Salvia! So do us all a favor and shut your mouth, or I'll come over there and shut it for you!"

Everyone at the table was stunned into silence, leaving the Servine free to finish his meal in peace. Only when the plate was completely empty did he finally reach for the large mug.

Human and Pokemon alike simultaneously leaned forward a little, waiting to see what was going to happen next.

The Grass-type Pokemon prince sniffed the liquid and recoiled in disgust. "Do I really have to?"

The answer he got was stifled laughter from the Jorgenson boy he hated so very much at that moment.

"This is gonna be wicked," the Thorston twins chorused.

Seeing no way out, Snivels raised the mug to his lips. The last thing he did before the foul liquid entered his mouth was turn to Trainer Hiccup and say, "Tell Amber I love her."

When the awful, burning taste touched his tongue, he nearly spit it all out onto the table. But Snivels didn't want to let his friends down, so he swallowed it. The next mouthful was just as terrible, but he forced himself to swallow that too. And the next one, and the next one, and the next one...

It felt like an eternity, but finally the mug was empty. There wasn't even a single drop of mead left in it. Snivels practically slammed the tankard on the table, gasping for air. His mouth felt like it was on fire, but he managed to talk through the pain.

"There! I did it." Then, to Snotlout, "Happy now?"

Before anyone could reply in the seconds that followed, the Servine's eyes rolled into the back of his head and he fainted headfirst onto the table.

After about a minute of silence, there was an angry shout of, "That's it?!"

Just like that, all eyes were on Snotlout.

"He downs that whole mug and just passes out?!" the livid Jorgenson yelled. "Where's the humiliation?! The stupidity?! The embarrassing secrets spewing outta his mouth like lost lunch?!"

But Hiccup (both of them, actually) had seen this before. Every now and again, a Viking that had guzzled down a large amount of mead would lose consciousness for a minute or two, and when they woke up they'd start jabbering on about pretty much anything that came to mind.

Snivels stirred, his eyes opening a little. Trainer Hiccup chanted in his head over and over again, _Please don't say anything stupid, please don't say anything stupid..._

"Hey guys?" slurred the Servine with a glazed-over look in his eyes. "Why did the stars decide to come out early tonight?"

Without waiting for an answer, he got up off his seat on the bench and started stumbling around, singing.

" _I've got a lovely bunch of dragon eggs_

 _Bum, bum, bum, bum_

 _There they are, all sitting in the nest_

 _Green ones, blue ones, some bigger than your head!_ "

Giggling with unmistakable drunkenness, the Servine lumbered over towards the back of the hall where the dragons and monsters were eating. He found Sightless and leaned up against him, a goofy grin stretching across his face.

"You know something, Mr. Super-Scary-But-Actually-Really-Nice-Gore-Magala? You're my favorite monster of the bunch!" He flung his leafy arms around Sightless's neck, earning himself an eyeless glare. "And nobody even has to know you're not really a boy! I was so super surprised when Adhesive told me, but Hiccup will never, ever know."

Rider Hiccup looked at the Gore Magala in shock. Was Sightless really a girl monster?

"It's so weird," the drunk Snivels continued. "If you guys-es aren't boys or girls, then how do you get around to havin' cutesy little babies? You know, I bet I could raise a baby Gore Magala like a good mama."

Now Rider Hiccup was confused. First, Snivels said that Sightless wasn't a boy, and now he just said that Sightless wasn't a girl either. _What in Thor's name is he even talking about?_

He turned his head toward Fishlegs, instinctively wanting to ask him about it, and saw the Ingerman boy's fingers twitching like he couldn't wait to get his hands on the Book of Monsters.

The Servine's smile then turned into a frown. "I miss Ratha and Rathi. They were just so cute, even when she was being all snappy at him, like a little baby monster Astrid and a little baby monster Hiccup."

Then he started crying. "And they don't even remember me! Why did Drageist and Splice have to be so unfair and wipe their poor little brains?! It's just too much for a baby one-eyed Rathalos and baby Rathian to handle!"

He was bawling now, burying his head in Sightless' cape. The Gore Magala growled and turned his head the other way, pretending not to notice.

The Monster Riders and Go-Getters, however, seemed to be enjoying the show.

"Drageist should have let me bring my phone," Adhesive said with a laugh, "This is comedy gold!"

Snivels' tears stopped quite suddenly, and his frown did a one-eighty. "But enough about me," he slurred. "Did you know that Hiccup once built a shrine to Astrid in his bedroom?"

Both Rider Hiccup's and Trainer Hiccup's eyes went wide with horror.

"He also has like a dozen or so drawings of her in his sketchbook," said the clueless Servine. "It's supposed to be a secret, so shhhhhhhh!"

Well, it certainly wasn't a secret anymore.

The two Hiccups lowered their heads as far down as they could go, avoiding the eyes of their respective Astrids.

"And that's not all," Snivels jabbered. "He also accidentally chipped the blade of her axe while he was sharpening it, so he replaced it with another one hoping she wouldn't notice. But she did!" He then fell into a fit of giggles.

Trainer Astrid already knew about that, but Rider Astrid didn't. She turned to look at Rider Hiccup, who was hiding his face in his hands, his cheeks bright red with embarrassment.

Snotlout was beyond ecstatic. He'd figured Snivels would humiliate himself, but now he was humiliating Hiccup. That was so much better than anything the arrogant Jorgenson had ever hoped for!

"I was the best man at their wedding!" the Servine blurted. "You're looking at Mr. Front Row Seat here!"

There was an excited squeal from Arachne, Hiccstrid shipper extraordinaire. "What was it like?! Did you see them kiss?! Tell me, tell me, TELL ME!"

But Snivels got a funny look on his face, and slumped against Sightless' flank. "I think I'm gonna..."

In one swift motion, he pulled himself up over the Gore Magala, like he was trying to mount him. There was a loud retching sound, and Sightless let out a scream of disgust, bucking the drunk Grass-type off of him.

Everyone at the table gagged when they realized what Snivels had done. "Suddenly it's not so funny anymore," Adhesive muttered.

Groaning, the Servine staggered out from behind Sightless and grabbed the Gore Magala's wingarm, wiping his mouth with it like it was a giant napkin. "I think I'd like to take a nap, now," he slurred. "Can someone get Sonata to sing me to sleep?"

Just like that, he passed out again. This time, he stayed unconscious.

There was a long moment of silence before a certain Jorgenson burst out laughing. But not necessarily at Snivels.

"You should have seen the looks on your faces!" he jeered at the two blushing Hiccups. "Good luck with Astrid now!"

Trainer Hiccup stood up from his seat lightning fast. "I'll carry Snivels back to the living quarters," he said, a little too quickly, rushing towards his unconscious friend.

"And I'll give Sightless a bath," said his counterpart, following suit.

Deep down, they both knew they couldn't run and hide forever.

Snotlout was laughing so hard he ended up falling backwards off the bench. But it didn't last long, as the irritated and disgusted Sightless purposefully stepped on the arrogant teen's stomach as Rider Hiccup led him out of the hall. The pained look on Snotlout's face would have made Snivels laugh for sure, had he not been unconscious from intoxication.

"Is it possible to die from second-hand embarrassment?" Trainer Astrid moaned, sinking her face into her hands.

"You do that," answered Rider Astrid, already getting up from the table. "I've got to ask my boyfriend about a certain axe."

Without another word, she ran off, shouting Hiccup's name as she disappeared behind the doors.

"So," Snaketail spoke casually into the silence. "I guess Snivels passed."

"That he did," agreed Ninjark. "But it probably cost him his dignity to do it."

Snotlout's hand rose into the air to give a shaky thumbs-up. "Totally worth it…!"

* * *

 **Cottonmouth255** **: Thanks to my companion for helping me out with this chapter! I know I said that the chapters would start getting shorter, but this one kind of got away on me. If you've read ReptileGirl497's "Across the Distortion World", you'll know that the Monster Riders and Go-Getters have crossed paths before, but the Riders don't know this on account of having their memories wiped.**

 **I'm hoping to make this a plot point in the future, so I'm starting to build up to it now by having the characters interact with one another, which is why this chapter ended up longer than I planned.**

 **NEXT CHAPTER: Snivels dares Ruffnut**


	4. Swiping from Spitelout

**_Chapter 4 – Swiping from Spitelout_**

 **This chapter's dare was my own idea. To whomever is reading this, we still encourage you to send dare ideas via review!**

* * *

Snivels knew nothing but pain and exhaustion when he arose sluggishly from a drugged slumber. His eyelids refused to open, and when he tried to raise his hand to forcibly peel them apart, his arm was too tired to respond. And then there was the _headache_ , holy _Arceus_. It felt like a Groudon had been dancing on top of it. He tried to open his mouth to express his pain, but all he managed to produce was a muffled grunt.

A question slowly rose out of his foggy mind. How had he ended up in such a sorry state? The last time he'd felt so achy and lethargic had been the last time he drank –

Oh.

The Servine sat up in his bed abruptly, although it made his headache worse. At last, he managed to get a hand up to knead at his sticky eyelids, and his eyes finally cracked open. Greeting his weary eyes were the light of morning filtering through the windows and the sight of the Go-Getters sleeping peacefully around him. When he turned his head to look at the other side of the room, the Monster Riders were sleeping as well.

The sight restored Snivels' memory remarkably quickly after waking up in such a dreadful haze. The previous day, he'd been forced together with the Monster Riders by Drageist, brought to an alternate Berk and made to participate in the dare war, and coerced by that muttonheaded Snotface to drink an entire mug of mead. That was where Snivels' memories cut off, right before the alcohol had taken its toll on his vulnerable body. He didn't want to imagine what had come out of his mouth, with all the Go-Getters and Monster Riders there as witnesses.

"Water," he groaned, putting a hand on his forehead.

Without making a sound, the Servine slipped out of his bed and crossed the room to the door. He stepped outside into the fresh morning air and shut the door gently behind him, so as not to wake anyone else up. It was only a short walk to the stables, where the monsters, dragons, and Pokemon were probably all still sleeping. They'd been fed and watered last night before the group went to the Meade Hall for Snivels' dare, so there would likely be some water left over for Snivels.

Cautiously, he opened the wooden door with a creak and peeked inside. The opened door allowed sunlight to flood the inside of the stables, which consisted of a long hallway with a row of large stalls on either side. All the doors were still locked right now, and Snivels couldn't hear any activity going on inside of them, apart from the creatures' heavy breathing as they slept. So long as he was quiet, he wouldn't disturb them.

In his search for water, Snivels ended up unlocking one of the smaller stalls. He knew that the Monster Riders' monsters occupied the largest ones, and if one of them woke up cranky, he'd have to deal with a very dangerous beast. Snivels shuddered again, this time in fear. Although tame in the Monster Riders' hands, the monsters were still pretty much unknown to Snivels – he could barely remember what they were _called_ , let alone how to calm them.

Opening the first door, Snivels smiled when he saw Toothless curled up on the soft straw that lined the floor of the pen. After whispering a soft "good morning" to the peaceful Night Fury, Snivels went over to check on the bucket in the corner, and… yep, there was still water in it. He eagerly splashed it over his face before taking a long sip to soothe his throat. Already, he could feel his headache getting a little better.

There was a curious warble from nearby, and Snivels turned around to see Toothless waking up. The Night Fury tilted his head and blinked at his visitor with those big green eyes of his, always so wide and filled with curiosity. Snivels always found it adorable, and his smile widened as he gave the Night Fury a friendly pat on the snout. Toothless cooed and leaned into the Servine's touch, clearly enjoying the contact.

"You're welcome," Snivels replied. "Go back to sleep. Everyone else won't be up for a while, okay?"

Toothless nodded and went back to his previous spot, pacing in a circle until he was sure he'd found the most comfortable spot to lay down in. In moments, his head was in his paws, fast asleep again.

After taking another gulp of water, Snivels was beginning to feel a lot better. His head was still pounding, but not as much as before. He'd have to ask someone to go to the village healer for him and get a remedy or something. What was her name again? Goaty? Ever since moving to the Ice Caves and away from Berk, he didn't make it a very high priority to remember all the Vikings he used to put up with.

Snivels opened the pen and walked out, then stopped and found himself in front of a pair of legs. He looked up, meeting a familiar set of green eyes.

"Oh, uh, hey," Hiccup said awkwardly. "It's, ah, nice to see you up and about after what happened yesterday. Snivels, right?"

"Yeah yeah, hey there, Hiccup. Rider Hiccup," Snivels tried to correct himself, but shook his head in frustration. "Ugh, I stand by what I told you yesterday. We need better names for you and my own Hiccup."

Suddenly, Snivels felt a blinding wave of pain shoot through his head. He hissed and pinched the bridge of his large nose, prompting Rider Hiccup to become concerned.

"You okay?" he asked, kneeling down to meet Snivels' eye. "Um, everyone knows how terrible it is to wake up hungover. We're Vikings, occupational hazard and all that."

"Don't remind me," the Pokemon prince growled. "I can't believe I agreed to drink that. As if the taste wasn't bad enough, it just _has_ to give you memory loss and make you feel like you just went through… what's it called again? Oh yeah, Ragnarok. And not to mention all the stupid stuff I probably did after it melted my brain."

Nervously, Rider Hiccup gave a little chuckle. "Uh, yeah, about the stupid stuff. You, uh, want me to fill you in, or…"

Sighing, Snivels motioned for him to continue, already bracing himself for the worst. With Snivels' blessing, Rider Hiccup recounted all the embarrassing things Snivels had done and said while under the influence. At first, Snivels did nothing except listen. But when Hiccup got to the point where Snivels had brought up Astrid's axe, the Grass-type's eyes flew wide open in horror, and he whirled around to point at Hiccup with a quivering finger.

"I told her _what_?!" he practically shrieked, and then clutched his throbbing head with a groan of pain. More calmly, he continued, "Astrid probably would've maimed Hiccup for breaking her axe. Back in the days before they married, I mean. Please tell me your Astrid didn't treat you too badly after I accidentally ratted you out… Arceus, I'm such a Viking-brained moron…"

While Snivels buried his head into his hands, groaning in shame, Rider Hiccup actually smiled. When Snivels looked back up, he found himself on the receiving end of the Haddock boy's signature awkward, lopsided grin.

"What? What's so funny?" Snivels asked indignantly.

Rubbing the back of his head, Hiccup stammered, "O-Oh, it's just that Astrid hasn't used axes since she was a kid."

The Vine Snake Pokemon blinked. "What?"

"Y-Yeah," Hiccup chuckled awkwardly. "When she confronted me after dinner last night, I told her…"

* * *

 **Flashback**

 _"_ _I-I honestly have no idea wh-what Snivels was talking about!" Hiccup squeaked, his voice cracking in fear, as Astrid pulled him forward by his collar. "If I ever broke one of your axes, it must've been when we were little! You started using Dual Blades a long time ago!"_

 _An eternity seemed to pass before Astrid finally lowered her fist, admitting, "Okay, yeah, that makes sense."_

 _Hiccup sighed with relief, right before Astrid hammered him in the shoulder._

 _"_ _Just keep in mind that if you ever break something of mine again, I_ will _take off your other leg," she threatened._

 _"_ _I hear you loud and clear, milady," he quipped, pretending the pain in his arm didn't exist._

* * *

"…Oh," Snivels said, and his green face turned red with embarrassment. "Still, it's, uh, my fault you had to go through that, so… yeah, um, sorry."

"No problem," Hiccup chuckled. "So, uh, anyway… come to think of it, that was kind of the worst you said. You sang and babbled a bit, and then vomited on Sightless, which… uh, wasn't pretty…"

Snivels winced, wishing he didn't have to imagine that. Fortunately, Rider Hiccup didn't seem to pick up on Snivels' disgust, and instead turned around, unlatching the door to Sightless' pen. He slipped inside, but he came out again almost immediately, frowning.

"Sightless isn't mad at me, is he?" the Servine asked hesitantly, catching the worried look creasing Hiccup's face.

"No, I just forgot," the Haddock boy replied. "We only gave the monsters enough fish for last night's dinner, and didn't properly stock the stables. Heck, a place this large and far from the village might need its own food storage."

The one-legged Monster Rider spent a second or two thinking about the problem. Then, to Snivels' dismay, he knelt down and addressed him with a smile. The Servine instantly knew what Hiccup was about to say next. Snivels sighed and rubbed his temples, knowing that the incoming request was going to give him an even worse headache.

"Snivels, do you think you and your dragon could head down to the docks and get some fish for everyone?" Rider Hiccup asked, unaware of Snivels' inner turmoil.

Go down to _Berk_ and get fish from the _Vikings_? No, that wasn't going to fly for Snivels, not in his current state. He'd sooner invite Alvin the Treacherous over for a mug of yaknog than go alone into that stinkhole filled with dumb Vikings.

"Let me make at least one thing make sense," he explained, frustrated, through gritted teeth. "First, Verne is a Pokemon, not a dragon. A Dragon-type Pokemon, fair enough, but that's still different. Second of all, you should know by now that I don't like Berk and I don't like Vikings. I want to stay here all day, far away from the village, recovering from my Arceus-forsaken hangover. I'll pick wild berries for my meals instead of going to the Meade Hall, if I have to. Finally, why can't _you_ go with Sightless? You must have done it a thousand times in your universe, so why _me_?"

Silence once again fell over the stables as Rider Hiccup thought about that.

"Well," he began at last, "From what I've heard, you're the other Hiccup's best friend, and I wouldn't ask you for a favor if I didn't trust you. If our two teams are to remain together, we should all pitch in and help each other out. By doing this, you'll be contributing something to the whole group. It'll help you get settled in with the people you may not like…"

Snivels couldn't help but snort, knowing full well that Rider Hiccup probably meant Snotlout and the twins.

"…and you'll feel more at home with a larger group," the Haddock boy continued. "Also, you'll be helping to feed the monsters, which is an essential part of forming a bond with them and earning their trust. It's something I think all of you Go-Getters should do anyway – same for my Monster Riders with your dragons and Pokemon. Plus, the flight and the nice sea air will make you feel better."

At first, Snivels gave no reply. He was too busy being shocked by Rider Hiccup's eloquently summarized explanation. It was in moments such as these where Snivels was truly reminded of Hiccup's ability to lead Team Go-Getters… or Monster Riders, in this case. More importantly, after that inspiring pep talk, Snivels no longer felt as though he had a legitimately good reason to refuse the request.

"You're right," he conceded. "I'm sorry. Verne and I will go."

"Want me to send someone along to help you carry all the fish?" Rider Hiccup asked kindly. "You could probably get enough in a single trip if you went with a partner."

"Please do," Snivels replied sullenly, already marching over to Verne's stall.

* * *

Just as Hiccup had predicted, a short while of flying above the Berkian forest was doing wonders for Snivels' hangover. As he perched atop Verne's back, he welcomed the feeling of the chilly morning wind whipping at his face. His headache pretty much forgotten, Snivels leaned forward eagerly as his Noivern mount raced across the sky, filling him with the indescribable feeling of being one with the air.

Soon, the trees below started to thin, and a village down near the cliffs became visible. Even though Snivels knew that it was Berk down there, he didn't so much as frown upon sighting it – the exhilarating flight had put him in a much better mood.

"Come on, Verne, let's land somewhere down near the docks," Snivels yelled over the breeze.

The Flying-and-Dragon-type Pokemon let out a shriek, which Snivels heard loud and clear as an enthusiastic, " _Got it!_ "

Diving swiftly toward the mass of ships gathered at the base of the cliff, Verne pulled up when he approached the docks, flapping his leathery wings for balance until he'd safely landed. Snivels slid off and beckoned Verne to follow him, already cringing at the sounds of the Berkians hard at work. The air was filled with the shouts of the fishermen hauling their nets off their boats, and those of other Vikings clamoring to grab them. It was a bustling hub of activity, which Snivels wanted to leave behind ASAP.

"We'll just get a few baskets, and then we'll leave," Snivels muttered to himself.

" _Didn't the other Hiccup say something about getting someone else to help us carry the fish?_ " Verne squawked.

The Noivern's question, indecipherable to all ears except those of other Dragon-types (and the sole exception, Snivels), ended up startling two nearby Vikings. They both yelped in shock and, much to their dismay, dropped their baskets of fish back into the sea.

"Thor almighty, couldja maybe settle that dragon of yers down a wee bit?" the short, fat Viking complained, although sounding more worried than scolding. "That's almost a whole catch we're not gonna get back!"

"Did I eat it all already?" the taller, bucket-headed Viking asked, genuinely perplexed. "Did I enjoy it?"

Without saying a word, Snivels hurried past Mulch and Bucket with a strangled, long-suffering groan. His hangover might have been mostly gone, but he was certain that enough time spent with the dense lunatics that populated Berk would give him an even worse headache.

 _Well, it could be worse,_ the Servine mused with a little chuckle. _I could be dealing with the twidiots._

Right at that moment, there was a horrific screech from high above. Snivels, Verne, and all the Berkians present simultaneously whipped around in time to see a Lunastra descend upon the harbor. The fiery, lion-like monster hovered above them, spreading its wings with a dramatic burst of orange dust and unleashing another terrible scream. Snivels froze on the spot, not knowing what was going on, while the Vikings did exactly the opposite.

"MONSTER ATTACK!" Mulch and Bucket hollered.

The pair dove off of the dock and into the water, and the other Vikings either followed their lead or ran off screaming. Now that the docks were empty, the Lunastra landed calmly, letting out a satisfied-sounding growl as she folded her wings. As Snivels watched the azure elder dragon transition from aggressive to peaceful, and saw a smirking blonde girl slide out of her saddle to land smartly on the dock, he started to understand what had happened.

"Love it when they do that," Ruffnut snickered, before noticing Snivels and giving him a casual wave. "Oh, hey, whatever-your-name-is. Hiccup told me to help you get fish for the monsters or whatever."

"It's _Snivels_ ," Snivels growled, grinding his teeth, "and why did Hiccup pick _you_ to come with me? Why didn't he choose someone more reliable, like Fishlegs or Astrid?"

"I'unno," Ruff grunted uncaringly. She briefly dug her finger into her ear and flicked the wax away. "Hiccup made me come here because it'd be 'pro-duck-tive'. Dunno what that means, but I'm guessing something boring."

Growling under his breath, Snivels rubbed his temples and tried to keep himself from exploding. It wasn't even breakfast time yet, and he already wanted the day to end so he didn't have to put up with any more nonsense. He felt a tiny bit better when Verne patted him on the back sympathetically, but not by much.

"Let's just get this over with," he sighed. "Come on and help me get the fish so we can get out of here – and _no_ playing pranks on me or Verne just because you're bored, got it?" he added, with a stern glare at Ruffnut.

She hemmed and hawed, but reluctantly went along with it. Snivels could hear her grumbling under her breath as she followed him toward the fish nets that now lay unattended. Ignoring the Thorston girl, Snivels went ahead and grabbed an empty basket, which was about as tall as he was and thus needed to be dragged toward the nearest boat. He heard Ruff snickering at him when she passed by with a basket of her own slung comfortably over her shoulder, which he also decided to ignore.

To Ruffnut's credit, however, Snivels had to admit that his errand had become a lot more tolerable thanks to her. She'd scared all the Vikings away with her Lunastra for a cheap laugh, which Snivels was grudgingly grateful for. As he daintily placed one fish at a time into his basket, he closed his eyes and breathed in the salty ocean air, reveling in the quiet sounds of the wind and waves. Now he didn't have to worry about –

"Outta my way, ye bothersome lizard!"

Something huge slammed roughly into Snivels, causing him to tumble into his basket and tip it over, which, in turn, caused a pile of fish to slide out and bury him. Retching with disgust, Snivels sat up and shook the fish off, scattering them all with a series of wet _splats_. Now free of the slimy avalanche, Snivels turned around to deliver a scalding glare toward the Viking that had so inconsiderately shoved him aside.

His needle-sharp gaze ended up piercing the broad, retreating back of Spitelout Jorgenson.

To Snivels, Spitelout was a bigger, smellier, ruder Snotlout. What held Spitelout back from being as insufferable as his son, in Snivels' opinion, was his slightly more realistic assessment of his own abilities and standing in life; in other words, Spitelout's head wasn't nearly as full of hot air as Snotlout's was. Besides, Snivels barely even interacted with Spitelout as often as he did Snotlout, and anyone who made life miserable for Stoick the Vast got automatic respect points from the Servine.

However, as their brief encounter had just demonstrated, Spitelout wasn't _much_ better than Snotlout. He was still a huge, dumb, kill-things-first-ask-questions-later Viking jerk that only bathed once a week. And Snivels was particularly ill-disposed toward him right now, after almost being flattened and having his sensitive nose filled with a burning stench that could've peeled paint.

"Hey, Spitelout," Ruff called out, regardless of Snivels' newly-aroused anger. "Where'd you get that axe? Looks awesome."

"What, this?" Spitelout turned around to address her, puffing out his chest with pride as he held the axe up to catch the sunlight. "Just a li'l somethin' that Gobber put together fer me last night. Beautiful, ain't she? I needed a new one to show off to the boys in today's rock-splittin' contest."

Once he was finished preening, the Jorgenson's eyebrows scrunched up in suspicion. "I dunno what yer plannin', lass, but I won't have ye an' yer muttonheaded brother playin' one'a yer Loki-forsaken tricks today. Anythin' happens to this axe, I'll be sure to get the Chief's permission to lop yer li'l heads off with it."

 _Wouldn't be a huge loss, honestly,_ Snivels thought spitefully, beginning to slowly gather up the spilled fish.

"Nah, wouldn't dream of it," Ruff denied innocently. "Just came here to swipe a few fish."

Spitelout's suspicious glare briefly switched over to Snivels before returning to Ruff. "Well, if that's all… just stay outta me way, or else."

With those final words, he hefted his axe and swaggered back the way he'd came. The busy Snivels (unfortunately) smelled the man before he saw him, but even then, it was too late to move out of the way before Spitelout rudely shoved him aside yet again, sending him nose-first into the fish pile. Soon, Spitelout was gone, presumably heading toward the woods to compete in the contest he'd mentioned.

Not that any of that mattered to Snivels, who slowly picked himself up out of the fish and wiped himself free of the slime. He stood there, silently, making no noise except for the shaky breaths that spouted in bursts from his nostrils. _Now_ he was angry, and knew exactly how he was going to get revenge – in a way that a calmer Snivels probably wouldn't even consider.

"Ruffnut," Snivels began, his tone ominously dangerous, "it's my turn to dare somebody, right?"

"Yeah, after Snotlout gave you your dare last night," the female Thorston replied, and then started to laugh. "Oh man, you should've seen yourself! You puked all over –"

"So I've heard," Snivels interrupted her with a scowl. "Anyway, I've decided who I'm going to dare, and what I'm going to ask them to do."

Of course, the intended recipient of his dare was Ruffnut herself, which she was only too delighted to hear. By the time Snivels was finished telling her what he had in mind, and Ruff was finished telling _him_ what'd make the dare more interesting, the Servine ended up leaving the docks. While he and Verne flew back to the retreat, a very strange, un-Snivels-like thought entered his mind.

 _Maybe Ruffnut isn't entirely idiotic after all._

* * *

The second Ruff delivered her baskets of fish to the retreat, she patted Queen's flank and told the Lunastra to eat up and rest. Before she headed up to the Meade Hall, she had some business that needed tending to immediately. Queen did the closest thing that an elder dragon could to rolling her eyes, as, judging by the mischievous grin on Ruff's face when she turned tail and ran off into the woods, the Thorston girl had another inane scheme brewing in her head.

Queen wanted no part of whatever her rider was up to, so she curled up in her pen and let Hiccup and Snivels hand-feed her.

The dare that Snivels had given Ruffnut was very simple, and yet, at the same time, very dangerous to successfully pull off. As Ruff rushed through the woods, dodging trees and brushing past shrubs, she allowed herself to reflect on the conditions that the Servine had set for her – as well as those she'd set for _herself_. Snivels' original dare had been too tame for her, so she asked if she could spice it up a little.

Assignment: steal Spitelout's new axe.

Condition 1: she couldn't use a monster or dragon to help her.

Condition 2: she had to do it while it was still on his person.

Condition 3: she had to present it to her friends while they ate breakfast.

Condition 4: if she didn't present the axe before everyone left the Meade Hall, she'd automatically fail the dare.

 _Too easy,_ Ruffnut laughed to herself. She jumped off a ledge and landed neatly on her feet, and continued to race towards the village. Berk was the best place to start, after all – she had no idea where Spitelout was going for his contest, and starting her search from a random spot in the woods would take too long.

When Ruff pushed past the last of the trees and found herself on the outskirts of the village, however, she saw that she needn't have worried. Only a few meters to her left was a series of heavy footprints tramping through a patch of mud, the trail leading back into the woods. Ruff paused, wondering briefly if the trail was worth following; after all, those could be anyone's footprints.

The rare moment of insight then left the Thorston girl, who grinned with anticipation before rushing to follow the footprints.

After running for about a minute or so, Ruff began to hear shouts coming from somewhere nearby. She stopped and tilted her head to listen – the voices were pretty faint, but it sounded like they were coming from the thick trees off to her right. Shifting into stealth mode, Ruff dove into the bushes and crawled toward the commotion on her hands and knees. This was the kind of prank that necessitated a stealthy approach. She'd only have one shot at succeeding, and even then, success came with a good chance of being murdered by Spitelout.

At that thought, she grinned to herself. _So worth it_.

Finally, Ruff came to a clearing, and stopped to take shelter behind a particularly leafy bush. She slowly, cautiously, poked her head through the leaves and found herself staring at a cluster of Viking men laughing uproariously about something in the middle of a quarry. Her eyes zeroed in on Spitelout – more specifically, on the axe he was proudly hefting into the air for his peers to admire.

Ruff's grin grew until her cheeks started hurting. There was no way she could grab his axe now, with everyone's attention on it. She'd have to wait for an opportunity to creep in and swipe it when he let his guard down. Contrary to her friends' belief, she _could_ sit and be patient for some things, and one of those things was the perfect moment to pull off a brilliant, Loki-worthy prank.

She got cozy in her hiding place and settled in to watch the show.

Unfortunately, the Vikings didn't start chopping boulders with their axes right away. They all started clamoring about who would go first, yelling over top of one another until no one voice could be distinguished from the others. It was Spitelout himself, finally, who shouted loudly enough to quiet his fellow Vikings down, and declared that the contest initiator would be decided by an arm wrestling contest.

The suggestion was met by a round of cheers, and Ruffnut almost felt like joining in. If they were going to arm-wrestle, they'd have to put their axes down. And, lo and behold, Spitelout was already swaggering over to place his axe against a tree.

Ruff's eyes slid automatically over to the weapon, and her fingers twitched. It was _right there_ , leaning against the tree directly to her left. All she'd have to do is reach out from her hiding place, and _yoink_! She could grab it, pull back into her hiding spot, and quietly take her leave before anyone noticed.

She shot a glance at Spitelout and the others – they were clustered around a flat boulder, Spitelout sitting down at one end and another Viking at the other end, while the rest crowded around excitedly to watch the match. Deciding that this was her chance, she muttered a prayer to Loki and stuck her arm out into the open

As Ruff reached for the axe, she saw that it was no good. She couldn't stretch her arm far enough to grab the handle. If she shifted over to the left, maybe she'd be able to _just_ wrap her fingers around it, but that would involve movement significant enough to rustle the bush and draw the Vikings' attention.

Sweat started to slip down Ruffnut's brow, and panic threatened to set in. In literally seconds, Spitelout would finish his arm wrestle and come back to claim his axe, and Ruff's golden opportunity would be no more. She'd have to come up with a new plan and snatch the axe from right in the middle of the crowd of Vikings, guaranteeing her capture and subsequent punishment. In order to prevent that, should she risk disturbing the bush and giving her position away?

Suddenly, there was an enormous, unified cheer from the Vikings. Spitelout slammed his opponent's hand to the side and bellowed his "Spitelout, Spitelout, oi oi oi" line loud enough to startle birds from the trees.

Ruffnut's brain shut off and she moved completely on impulse, her body spurred into motion by nothing but her own prank instincts. Amidst the din of cheers and congratulatory shouts, she rolled over, vigorously shaking the bush and scratching herself with sharp twigs in the process. Her arm flew back out, snatched the axe, and pulled it toward her. The instant it was in her grasp, Ruff burst out of the foliage and ran like the Fatalis itself was after her.

Seconds later, Ruff heard a furious roar coming from back in the clearing. Spitelout had definitely noticed her, and was surely hot on her heels. If he wanted to make her pay, though, he'd have to catch her first!

She didn't even look back – her only response to the noise was to run even faster. Her breath exploded from her lungs and her feet practically flew over the cluttered forest floor, sending up a flurry of fallen leaves and branches behind her. Adrenalin flooded her veins, fueling her legs to move faster, her lungs to work harder, and her mind to race faster. The entire forest whipped past her in a blur of green and brown, but her brain was working hard enough to process it, allowing her to dodge every tree in her way. This was fight or flight.

"GET BACK HERE YE GODS-DAMNED NUISANCE!" Spitelout's voice thundered in the distance.

Somehow, despite her body needing every breath her lungs could provide, Ruffnut somehow found it in her to call a cheeky reply back.

"I REGRET _NOTHIIIIIIIIIIIIIING_!"

* * *

 **Cottonmouth25** **: I'm back, after enduring a long bout of writer's block! Wow, it's been exhausting, but I think I'm finally ready to start writing again. I've got a "write at least a little bit every night" plan that I plan on sticking to, so that I'm less likely to lose my mojo and disappear for another several months.**

 **ReptileGirl497** **: Oh, how good it feels to be back in business! Especially since I didn't actually get a chance to leave a note in the last chapter, which I very much enjoyed writing. And don't worry, I'll make sure the Spore Serpent doesn't go on another prolonged absence!**

 **NEXT CHAPTER: Ruffnut dares Brandyn**


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